Exclusive excerpts from revealing conversations between Gujarat Home Secretary GC Murmu, state counsel Arvind Pandya, and RB Sreekumar, who taped the exchanges on the sly

GC Murmu: What all questions will come up?

Arvind Pandya: Now, they will ask questions relating to IB, i.e., about the role of IB with Godhra incident, from that point further questions will come up.

Murmu: Let us ask questions which will come up.

Pandya: They will ask about functioning of IB in the entire case, so whatever duty given to IB will be asked, i.e., by the Police Manual.

RB Sreekumar: I will explain this as per Police Manual Rule 461.

Murmu: They ask generally compound questions, specially Mukul Sinha, he will ask a very compounding question, in one question there will be three four questions, first, you should not get hasty, not very very quick in answering questions, first you should understand each and every question quietly and then answer.

Pandya: See, I know Mukul Sinha for last two years, I studied him, he asks first, complicated question. He puts 3-4 questions in one question. See…

Murmu: First he put a compound question, question, long question it will have 3-4 questions and conveniently he will put questions to get something from you, as affirmative response.

Pandya: Mr Sreekumar… what happens you know, in last question three compounding questions, he put in the last compounding question in the affirmative and if you say yes that means your answer to all questions are positive.

Murmu: Once he asks question, you should say I would take this question first and explain one by one. You can say that I do not understand this question, let me understand it first and then answer another question.

Sreekumar: I will answer question by question.

Pandya: Now, I explain, what is the requirements, that will be the style of questioning, i.e., among the three questions, one may be negative and two positive and vice versa. Among this whatever you feel like correct or incorrect, you may answer accordingly.

Murmu: You will get lot of time.

Pandya: I want to brief you another thing, you answer peacefully, by listening to the question first, don’t be in a hurry, first understand what you have to say, for eg, out of 100 percent or 90 percent you have 10 percent confusion, you ask him to repeat the question, say that I had not followed the question. I am telling you that majority of the witnesses suffered setbacks in this matter, in spite of instructions. Witnesses know these aspects, because they are wise, but due to tension, they answer hurriedly.

Murmu: This is one thing, second thing, you should try to restrict answer to the point.

Pandya: See, if one thing is cleared by telling no so do that, there is no need for telling anything further.