One report said nine people, including local Bharatiya Janata Party leaderDeepak Patel, headed Hindus who burned to death 42 people, including former Parliament member Ehsan Jaffrey,in the Muslim neighborhood known as Gulbarg Society in Meghaninagar. "These persons, armed with weapons,led a mob of 20,000 to 22,000, which attacked Gulbarg Society and set it ablaze," said the report byKirit Erda, senior inspector-in-charge of the Meghaninagar police station. "They first burned to death 18residents and later burned 24 more persons in the same place," said Erda's report, written in theGujarati language.
The FIR mentions Mr. Patel and five others as having led a mob of about 1,500to 2,000 people which attacked the building and set it afire with a large number of people trapped inside. Italso claims that the mob looted household goods and other valuable material. The FIR, filed under varioussections, names Mr. Patel and others for rioting, dacoity [banditry] and arson among other charges.226
"It is politically incorrect to arrest them and we are under tremendouspressure to not to act against them," a top police official told. These six persons [involved in theNaroda Patia attacks], notorious for their fanaticism, have not been arrested by the police so far and tophome department officials say that this is because of the state government's instructions.
People don't trust the local police. They are saying that all this happened intheir presence. There have been some arrests and some of the police have tried to save people. When witnessesfile complaints, the police enter their statements according to their preference. They don't file complaintsproperly. People are uneducated and the police don't show them the statement, they just get them to sign it.The police don't record statements properly. In some cases, they won't write the name of the accused. In onecase, for example, seven people were identified but they didn't write their names. This area is covered by theMadhavpura police station but this is happening in all stations, also at the Sabarmati police station.229
Kutch SP Vivek Srivastav has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner of Police(Prohibition and Excise). He had arrested a Home Guards commandant having VHP links, and some otherinfluential people for creating trouble in the border district.
The arbitrary detention and filing of false charges against Muslim youthduring and after the initial attacks in Gujarat remains largely unchecked. An attorney working in Vadodara andAhmedabad told Human Rights Watch that the detention and filing of false charges against Muslims was rampantin these cities.235 When Human Rights Watch askedresidents of Chartoda Kabristan camp if they had been able to go home since arriving at the camp, one maleteenager responded, "The government is with the VHP and the Bajrang Dal. They are combing our areas. Ifwe go back there, to our homes, the police fire on them, and take them to jail to show that they have arrestedpeople."236
The police surrounded us. Some children had run inside the mosque forprotection. The police pulled me out, slapped me, and hit me with the butt of their gun twice. They asked mefor keys to the inside room and I said I didn't have them so they hit me again. Then they grabbed the boys andtook them and beat them. There were ten or twelve of them. They left me behind. Those boys were arrested andhave not returned. Five people were killed here in police firing, those cases have been filed against the boysthat they took.237