Gujarat govt supported Muslim massacre: report

CNews NEW DELHI: A private television news network broadcast footage of men accused of taking part in deadly Gujarat riots in 2002 apparently admitting that the Hindu-ruled local government supported violence against Muslims.India Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadev has demanded the arrest of former Chief Minister Gujarat Naredndra Singh Modi whereas Congress said that the report has proved that the incidents were a planned massacre. The tv network Thursday showed secretly recorded interviews by a news magazine with several people it identified as right-wing Hindus.The video interviews show several men reportedly boasting about their role in the widespread killings and referring to the involvement of police and tacit support of politicians.At least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed after a Muslim mob was accused of torching a train, burning 59 Hindus alive.The footage shows a man reportedly admitting to slitting a pregnant woman's stomach and bringing out the foetus with a sword -- an incident that has been widely reported in the media.The news network did not get a later comment from the men whose interviews were secretly taped.The western Gujarat state is ruled by India's main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and is headed by hawkish Hindu leader Narendra Modi.Several of those shown on television were said to be Hindu militants from groups affiliated to the BJP.Rights groups have accused Modi, who faces polls in December, of encouraging the violence.Last week, Modi walked out of a television interview when persistently quizzed over his role in the riots.The BJP said it expected "some dirty things" from the ruling Congress party ahead of the elections.So far, more than a dozen people have been convicted over the bloodshed.An enquiry by the state-run railways later ruled the fire on the train which sparked the riots was an accident.