By TwoCircles.net news,
Delhi: Human rights and social rights activist have dubbed the death sentence and life term to the convicts in the Godhra train burning incident as “outrageous and shocking’’. But they want the judiciary to “maintain the same standard in passing the judgement in post-Godhra riot cases pending in different courts”.
A special court which had acquitted 63 persons in the case on February 23, have convicted 31. Of them 11 were given death sentence and 20 others life term today.
Commenting on the judgement, state unit president of Peoples Union for Civil Liberties(PUCL) J S Bandukwala said that “it is a very sad judgement as it is based on lack of evidence’’.
However, he hoped that the convicts would be freed by the Gujarat high court and the Supreme court because the charges against the convicts were not substantiated by evidence.
“I wish that the judiciary in Gujarat honestly maintain the same standard in post-Godhra riot cases pending in various courts’’, remarked Bandukwala. There are nine other heinous riot cases that were investigated by the Special Investigation Team(SIT) set up by the Supreme Court and trial in these cases is on.
He reminded how the Godhra district court had, a few years ago acquitted, all the 30 accused in the Panderwada case in which 40 Muslims were killed during 2002 riots and their bodies were secretly buried in the bed of a river near Lunawada.
Catholic activist Fr. Cedric Prakash heading NGO Prashant said that the death sentence to 11 persons and a life term to 20 others convicted for the Godhra train incident “is simply outrageous and shocking’’.
Stating that the judge in his judgement upheld the police theory of the incident being a “criminal conspiracy’’, he said there was practically no evidence to substantiate the theory as the alleged “key conspirator’’ Maulana Hussain Umarjee was among 563 acquitted by the court.
“So, the conspiracy theory was totally hollow’’, he stated.
“The verdict and sentence given are nothing but a travesty of justice’’, said Fr. Prakash.
Commenting that she was firmly against death penalty to anyone, Mumbai-based Citizens for Justice and Peace(CJP) representative Teesta Setalvad said that it was shocking to see the SIT’s special public prosecutor arguing for death penalty for all 31 convicts, suggesting a vindictiveness in the prosecution.
Stating that `Gujarat symbolized discriminatory governance”, Setalvad said :“ worst of all is the fact that 63 persons were acquitted after having spent nine years in jail without bail while the post-Godhra massacre accused roam free in their areas’’.
“Why has the Judge not granted them effective compensation for loss of personal liberty and ordered an inquiry and prosecution into all officials responsible for their wrongful and malicious confinement?’’, she questioned.
She alleged that SIT probing the Godhra incident, was influenced as the officer in-charge of Godhra SIT was Shivanand Jha, a Gujarat cadre IPS official. Jha was mentioned as an accused of 2002 riots in Zakia Jafri petition.
She said that SIT’s probe report was on the lines of the Gujarat police probe report, indicating how SIT had been influenced by the Modi government.