By TCN News,
Ahmedabad: The Gujarat High Court today awarded life imprisonment to 11 convicts for committing the brutal killings of a father-daughter duo in Mehsana district during the 2002 post Godhra riots. The High Court reversed the order of fast track trial court which had acquitted all the accused in 2005.
The division bench of justice A S Dave and justice B N Karia pronounced this quantum of sentence after the prosecution and victims’ advocates sought death sentence.
Maulana Mahmood Madani, General Secretary, Jamiat Ulama-e-Hind hailed the verdict and termed it a victory of justice. He said that for establishing rule of justice it was more significant and essential to ensure punishment to culprits than to release innocent prisoners.
Recalling horrific incident of burning alive, he advocated harshest punishment for the doers so that others learn a lesson. “This is a landmark verdict and I welcome it” Madani added and appreciated his advocates and JUH activists including Gujarat JUH general secretary Prof Nisar Ahmed Ansari who played crucial role for getting the conviction.
In the communal riots that erupted in Meda-Adraj village in 2002, Kalumiya Saiyad and his daughter Hasinabibi, were burned alive by a violent mob. According to case details, the two victims, Kalumiya Saiyed and his 22-year old daughter Hasinabibi, could not escape the mob on March 3, 2002.
Kalumiya Saiyed had taken shelter in the house of a neighbour, who was a Hindu. But the mob barged in by breaking the door and also beat up the neighbours – Mukesh, and his father Joitaram Prajapati – for protecting the Muslims. Both father and daughter were thrashed inside Prajapti’s house and dragged out. Kerosene was sprinkled on them and they were torched alive. When the two victims jumped into a water pool nearby to douse the flames, but after some time the accused brought them out and again set them on fire. By the police reached the spot, both were dead. The police lodged FIR against 15 persons and the name of 12 more persons came up during the investigation.
In 2005, the fast track trial court in Mehsana acquitted all the 27 accused for want of evidence. After that, state government along with Jamiat on behalf of the victims’ family appealed acquittal before High Court.
The High court accepted the hearing of only 15 persons whose names were lodged in FIR the first day. Validating the six eye witness, the court accepted prosecution’s claim that the father-daughter duo was chased by the mob, dragged them from their Hindu neighbour’s house and were burnt to death and finally awarded the punishment to 11 convicts.