New Delhi, Jan. 23: The CBI is raising doubts about the way Gujarat police handled the case of an alleged gang rape during the post-Godhra communal riots.

Bilkis Bano, who was pregnant at that time, alleged that armed residents of Randhikpur and Chhaparwad villages had attacked and raped them after the Godhra train carnage, when she and 16 relatives were on the run from the mob.

The 23-year-old, who had filed a complaint at the Limkheda police station, approached the Supreme Court, apprehending that she would not get justice from the state government. The apex court then ordered a CBI inquiry. The state government had earlier turned down a National Human Rights Commission recommendation to hand over the case to the CBI.

The bureau yesterday arrested 12 people, including the BJP’s former Dahod district secretary and a former Gujarat minister’s personal assistant, in connection with the gang rape and the massacre of 14 people during the riots. Those arrested have been identified as Pradeep Moria, Lala, Lala Vakil, Baku Bhai alias Abhay Singh, Kesar Bhai, Raju Sony, Ramesh Chandana, Shailesh Bhatt, Nitesh Bhatt, Jaswant Nai, Govind Nai and Naresh Moria.

The manner in which local police conducted the probe indicates that there is more to the case than meets the eye, said sources. Bilkis alleged that the police filed a closure memo before a Limkheda court on the grounds that there were contradictions in her statement, though the medical report confirmed that she was raped. Sources said the filing of a closure memo when the medical report confirms rape contradicts norms.

Besides, the Gujarat police had not been able to arrest the accused, who were picked up by the CBI, despite investigating the case for more than a-year-and-a-half. Local police had traced only seven bodies out of the 14 dead, said sources. They had not made any attempt to locate the other seven, the sources added.

The CBI is also likely to dig open the grave to find out whether the remaining bodies are there or not.

Senior CBI officers from Delhi had visited the scene of the incident and place where the bodies were buried and had also spoken to the victim. However, the villagers were not willing to speak to the investigators out of fear of the local police.

Sources also alleged that forensic doctors had not attempted to take the vaginal swab of the women raped, an evidence to link the rapist with the crime.

Bilkis’ counsel Harish Salve, during a hearing in the Supreme Court, had said that heinous crimes like rape are “pushed under the carpet” by the police, which acted fast only in disposing of the cases as “closed”.

Salve also alleged that despite Bilkis naming the accused in her complaint, the local police had failed to take action against them.