Joint commissioner of police (sector II), Ahmedabad, M K Tandon—who was in charge of areas that saw the worst two massacres—told the Nanavati-Shah Commission that he did not come to know about the attack on Gulbarg Society till 2 pm on February 28. In this, 38 were killed, many burnt alive, including ex-Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. ‘‘I was not present when the mob was being dispersed as I had gone near the Gulbarg Society at about 10.45 am and then had gone to Naroda. I was in Naroda at about 12 pm,’’ he deposed. However, records of Tandon’s official cellphone reveal that between 11.34 am and 12.09 pm, he was in the Meghaninagar area (where Gulbarg Society is). From Meghaninagar, records show, he called up the DCP in charge of the area and then Police Commissioner P C Pande. (According to police records, violence had started at Gulbarg Society at 10:30 and went on till 7 pm.) He also told the commission that he came to know about the Naroda-Patiya massacre only at 9.30 p.m. ‘‘I do not know when the mob entered this Muslim locality and I also do not know if the police officials present on the spot tried to contact me during this time. I think that during this time, the telephone lines were jammed. I first came to know about this incident (Naroda-Patiya) at 9.30 pm when I was in the Gulbarg Society and immediately rushed there,’’ he said. But his cellphone details reveal that he was constantly in touch with the police officers who were in direct charge of the riot-hit areas, and the police control room called him at least four times between 1.24 pm and 3.01pm. When contacted, Tandon refused to comment. Excerpts from his cellphone records: FEBRUARY 27 • 9.50 am: Tandon receives a call from the police control room. • 10.05 am: Tandon calls the police control room. • 10.08 am: Tandon again calls the police control room. • 10.09 am: Tandon calls DCP (Zone IV) P B Gondia. Immediately, he receives a call from DCP (Zone V) R J Savani. • 10.11 am: Tandon receives a call from DCP (Zone VI) B S Jebalia. • 10.12 am: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani. • 10.17 am: Tandon receives a call from ACP M T Rana. • 11.31 am: Tandon reaches the commissionerate and calls DCP Savani and speaks for 70 seconds. • 11.56 am: Tandon receives a call from Savani and speaks for 160 seconds. • 12.16 pm: Tandon again receives a call from Savani. • 12.57 pm: Tandon calls DCP Jebalia. • 12.58 pm: Tandon calls DCP Savani and speaks for 128 seconds. • 2.59 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani. • 3.18 pm: Tandon calls DCP Jebalia. • 3.49 pm: Tandon again calls DCP Jebalia and speaks for 84 seconds. Minutes later, Tandon leaves the commissionerate and goes to Revdi Bazaar, a communally sensitive area. • 4.02 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Jebalia. • 4.22 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Jebalia. • 4.25 pm: Tandon calls DCP Savani. Tandon goes to the New Cloth Market where office of DCP (Zone VI) is also situated. • 4.39 pm: Tandon calls DCP Savani. • 5.20 pm: Tandon calls Police Commissioner P C Pande and speaks for 104 seconds. Tandon leaves and heads towards Bapunagar and Naroda areas. • 5.49 pm: Tandon calls DCP Savani. • 5.57 pm: Tandon receives a call from the police control room. • 6.05 pm: Tandon receives a call from ACP Rana. Tandon is then in the Rakhial area. • 6.46 pm: Tandon reaches Bapunagar and receives a call from ACP Rana. • 6.59 pm: Tandon reaches the Naroda area and calls DCP Gondia. • 7.17 pm: Tandon returns to the commissionerate. • 8.42 pm: Tandon calls DCP Savani and speaks for 232 seconds. • 8.55 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani. • 9.34 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani and speaks for 481 seconds. • 10.32 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani and speaks for 100 seconds. FEBRURARY 28 • 12.00 am: Tandon receives a call from Savani. Immediately, he calls up then MoS Home Gordhan Zadafia and speaks for 133 seconds. • Three minutes later, Savani calls Tandon and speaks for 96 seconds. • 6:49 am: Tandon receives a call from Delhi and speaks for 126 seconds. • An hour later, Tandon speaks to all his three DCPs — Gondia, Savani and Jebalia at length. • Between 9:20 am and 9:36 am Tandon speaks at length with DCPs Savani and Jebalia and then speaks to police commissioner Pande. • 11.20 am: Tandon calls ACP M T Rana of Meghaninagar and Naroda areas. • 11.34 am: Tandon reaches Meghaninagar (Gulbarg Society is there) when he calls DCP Gondia, under whose jurisdiction both the areas fall. Ten minutes later, he calls the Police Commissioner and then makes two successive calls to the city police control room. • 12.06 pm: Tandon recevies a call from Pande. Three minutes later Tandon leaves Meghaninagar area. • 12.11 pm: Tandon reaches the Naroda area. • Between 12:14 pm and 12:18 pm he makes three calls to Pande and once to the police control room at 12:26 pm. • 12.33 pm: Tandon receives a call from DCP Savani and leaves Naroda. • 12.37 pm: Tandon calls Pande. • 12.41 pm: Tandon calls ACP Rana. Tandon is travelling through Bapunagar, Rakhial and reaches Relief Road at 1:56 pm. Till about 4 pm Tandon remains in the Relief Road and Revdi Bazaar areas. • While Tandon is not in any of the riot-hit areas within his jursdiction, his cellphone details reveal he was constantly in touch with the DCPs Gondia, Savani and Jebalia, the police control room, Pande and then city Mayor Himmatsinh Patel during this time. The police control room called him at least four times between 1:24 pm and 3:01 pm. • 4:12 pm: Tandon reaches the police commissionerate. • 4.28 pm: Tandon reaches the Meghaninagar area (Gulbarg Society). • 10:14 pm: Tandon visits the Naroda area and leaves by 11:03 pm. ‘Nothing can be proved without transcript of calls’
