Gandhinagar, July 7 (IANS) A special designated court trying the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre during the Gujarat riots Thursday rejected the plea to summon Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt as witness in the case.
Victims' lawyer S.M. Vora moved an application urging the court that Bhatt be summoned as witness. He said it was needed in the wake of Bhatt's affidavit before the Supreme Court, in which he made allegations related to the riots against Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
While rejecting the victims' plea, designated Judge B.J. Dhandha noted that the matter was pending before the Supreme Court and it had appointed a lawyer to look into the matter. He ruled that it was not advisable to call Bhatt as a witness at this stage.
Prosecution lawyer R.C. Kodekar started the final arguments to establish the role of various accused in the massacre, in which 69 people were killed in Meghaninagar Feb 28, 2002.