Ahmedabad, Oct. 27: The Gujarat government’s special counsel at the Nanavati-Shah riot probe commission resigned today after being caught on the Tehelka tapes, but claimed he had been reading out from a script given to him.

Arvind Pandya, a practising lawyer for 33 years, said he thought he was shooting for a serial titled Mad Show.

The tapes show the lawyer purportedly saying the riot accused have nothing to fear from the commission since Justice K.G. Shah “is our man” and Justice G.T. Nanavati “is only after money”.

Pandya also appears to say that if Narendra Modi were not chief minister, he would have dropped a few bombs himself in Juhapura, the largest Muslim neighbourhood in Ahmedabad.

His resignation was a foregone conclusion after the remarks about the judges.

But Pandya said: “I resigned because I wanted to lodge a complaint against Aaj Tak correspondent Dhimant Purohit and two other for cheating, criminal breach of trust and tarnishing my reputation.”

Pandya claimed he was persuaded by Purohit, whom he knew, to “act” in what he believed was a serial with a cast that included ministers, politicians and police officers. Aaj Tak aired the tapes on Thursday.

“I was given a script that I rehearsed so many times. They put those words in my mouth,” he told a news conference.

Asked why he had agreed to play what he had himself described as a “negative role”, Pandya said: “They were so convincing…. Besides, the Aaj Tak reporter told me to cooperate with the two Hindi-speaking men in their 30s who had come from Delhi (the Tehelka team).”

The lawyer has lodged a first information report against Purohit and “two others”. He said he would move court and approach the information and broadcasting minister for action against Tehelka.

Purohit, likely to be arrested unless he gets anticipatory bail, has gone into hiding.

He told The Telegraph from an undisclosed place that the Maninagar police station, which falls under Modi’s constituency, had refused to give him a copy of the FIR which he requires if he has to file for bail.

“I don’t understand why Pandya has lodged an FIR against me,” he said. “The sting operation was entirely carried out by Tehelka. Aaj Tak had no role except airing it.”

Pandya admits that Purohit was not present during the sting operation but claims he had called the reporter up and was assured that the serial “shoot” was genuine.

The lawyer, who has been defending Modi before the commission since 2002, said if he had a guilty conscience, he would have gone into hiding like some of the others tainted by the tapes have done.