Godhra train fire was deliberate, Sonia Gandhi's memoir claim is wrong: Ex-CBI officer

NEW DELHI: Former CBI special director Rakesh Asthana, who led the Gujarat Police investigation into the 2002 Godhra train burning, has rejected a passage in Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's memoir describing the cause of the fire as "disputed", maintaining that the investigation and subsequent court proceedings established that it was deliberately set.In an interview with news agency ANI, Asthana said investigators had examined different theories and possibilities before collecting evidence that connected the accused to the crime.He argued that the findings had been upheld by the Nanavati Commission, a Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) and the courts.Reacting to the passage in Gandhi's memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, Asthana said, "That is completely wrong, the investigation is authentic. It has been proved in the court of law.