Ensuring adequate number of well-equipped police personnel, educating the masses about true religion, highlighting harm caused by communal riots, and ensuring the media shows restraint while reporting such tragedies are among the recommendations made by the Nanavati Commission that probed Gujarat's post-Godhra 2002 riots.
The commission said it was deep rooted hatred between some sections of Hindu and Muslim communities that caused such riots, and recommended educating the masses to remove feelings of ill will.
The recommendations are part of the two-member panel's report, running into more than 2,500 pages, which was tabled in the Gujarat Assembly on Wednesday.
The commission was headed by Justice G T Nanavati, a retired Supreme Court judge, and Justice Akshay Mehta, an ex- Gujarat High Court judge, was its other member.
In its recommendations, the panel said disciplined police force, provided in adequate number and which is well- equipped, will help control communal riots.
While considering the evidence relating to the incidents which happened during the communal riots, we have noticed that the absence of police or their inadequate number emboldened the mobs to indulge in violence, it said.
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The report said the state should ensure the police force has adequate strength and see that vacant posts are immediately filled up.
What we find from the evidence placed before us is that the state has not been able to maintain adequate strength of the police force.
"It is, therefore, recommended that the state should periodically examine the requirement of adequate police force and see that vacant posts are immediately filled up," it said.
The commission suggested adoption of modern technology to improve policing.
The government should also ensure that every police station has adequate number of officers and policemen and that they are properly equipped with means of communication, vehicles, arms and ammunition.
"Adoption of modern technology can certainly improve their efficiency and effectiveness, it said.
The root cause for the communal violence that followed the Godhra incident (2002 Sabarmati Express burning that killed 59 people) was the deep rooted hatred between some sections of Hindu and Muslim communities, said the panel.
It noted that certain religious leaders and organisations and other anti-social elements take advantage of this hatred.
Poor and illiterate people are easily led away by religious leaders or by such interested persons and they indulge in communal violence without properly appreciating the effect of what they are doing.
"This weakness of the society can be changed only by properly educating the masses about what true religion is and how harmful the communal violence is to the welfare of the society, the judicial panel observed.
The commission said the media should ensure it does not become instrumental in provoking more communal violence by publishing "exaggerated" reports about the incidents.
Based on submissions made by former IPS officers R B Sreekumar and Rahul Sharma highlighting the media's role in reporting communal incidents in a highly irresponsible manner, the panel suggested effective action against such violations.
The commission said that authority concerned should see that the media acts with restraint during such difficult times and immediate effective action should be taken against the media if it is found to be transgressing the limits."