The Truth: Gujarat 2002

The Truth: Gujarat 2002 (also called Operation Kalank) was an investigative report on the 2002 Gujarat violence published by India's Tehelka news magazine in its 7 November 2007 issue. The video footage was screened by the news channel Aaj Tak. The report, based on a six-month-long investigation and involving video sting operations, stated that the violence was made possible by the support of the state police and the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Narendra Modi for the perpetrators. The report and the reactions to it were widely covered in Indian and international media. The recordings were authenticated by India's Central Bureau of Investigation on 10 May 2009.

A November 2007 report by the investigative news magazine Tehelka used a video sting operation to record a number of Sangh Parivar activists describing the riots from their perspective. Taking over six months, the reporter pretended to be an author interested in writing a book with a Hindutva point of view and interviewed the key accused. The report's table of content reads:

There was substantial media interest in the report's description of Narendra Modi's role in the riots, based, for example, on video footage of a senior Bajrang Dal leader saying that at a public meeting on the day of the fire, "he had given us three days to do whatever we could. He said he would not give us time after that, he said this openly."

The recordings show 14 main characters, with seven being accused in the main riot cases.

Journalist B G Verghese described the report as "nothing short of a bombshell ... too well-documented to have been faked, as alleged. The effect was numbing."

There were two contradictions between the report and official records. Bajrangi and Richard both claimed that Modi visited Naroda Patiya a day after the violence to thank them. Official records showed that Modi did no make any visit. India Today called their claims as "boastful lies". Also in the report, one VHP activist said a police superintendent promised to kill five Muslims and fulfilled it during the violence in the Dariapur area. Official records showed that the superintendent was not posted in the given location.

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