New Delhi: Senior Congress leader and former home minister P Chidambaram today accused the NDA government of creating a fake controversy over two affidavits filed in the Ishrat Jahan encounter case.
The former minister said that the ruling coalition was preparing a ‘doctored report on the missing files’.
"The moral of the story is that even a doctored report (of the Inquiry Officer) cannot hide the truth. The real issue is whether Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in a genuine encounter or a fake encounter. Only the trial of the case, pending since July 2013, will bring out the truth," he said.
On reports that the panel probing to find the missing files ‘tutored’ a witness, Chidambaram said, “The news report comprehensively exposed the fake controversy created by the NDA government on the two affidavits filed by the central government in the case.”
Chidambaram said Judge SP Tamang in his report (September 7, 2009) found that Ishrat Jahan and three others had been killed in a "fake encounter".
"The report caused an uproar in Gujarat and elsewhere. The first affidavit was misinterpreted and misused to defend the encounter. It was, therefore, necessary to clarify the first affidavit. Hence, a 'further affidavit' was filed on September 29, 2009) clarifying that intelligence inputs 'do not constitute conclusive proof and it is for the state government and the state police to act on such inputs'," he said.
Chidambaram said the contents of the 'further affidavit' (especially paras 2 and 5) are absolutely clear and correct. It is unfortunate that most people who commented on the matter had not cared to read the 'further affidavit'.
"The five 'missing' documents completely vindicate the position I had taken. The sequence of events conclusively establish that we had acted in a totally transparent manner," he said.
The former Home Minister said the draft of the 'further affidavit' was vetted by the Attorney General, the highest law officer of the country, before it was filed. The file passed through the hands of the Home Secretary at least 3 or 4 times. Ultimately, the 'further affidavit' was filed in Court on the orders of the Home Secretary.
"Of course, I take full responsibility for filing the 'further affidavit' which was absolutely the correct thing to do," he said.
Home Ministry Additional Secretary BK Prasad led one-man inquiry committee yesterday submitted its report where it said that four of the five missing documents continue to be untraceable.
The panel said that as per the then Joint Secretary, the papers were part of the file which went to his seniors but not found when the file returned to him. Chidambaram was the Home Minister then.
With PTI Inputs
