By Md. Ali, TwoCircles.net,
New Delhi: The All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA) has reaffirmed its stand on Godhra train carnage, as a tragedy which probably started by a raging fire from within S-6 of Sabarmati Express killing 59 people inside the bogey on the fateful day of February 27, 2002.
Talking to TwoCircles.net, Subhashini Ali, Vice President, AIDWA, said that there was enough inflammable material inside the railway coach which probably caused the fire to start from within the coach. “We saw kerosene stoves, spilt oil, bags of food grains, and jerry cans usually used for kerosene or cooking oil, inside the burnt bogey during the visit of an AIDWA delegation to Godhra on 9th March 2002.”
Subhashini Ali, Vice President, AIDWA
Emphasizing the fact that “there were no marks of burning outside the carriage,” she further said that, “we saw signs of a fire that had raged inside the compartment – burnt seats, mangled steel bars etc.”
She also highlighted the incident on the Godhra railway station itself involving molestation of a Muslim girl and a tea vendor which probably enraged the Muslim locality living next to the station, “It seems that angry people probably came towards the compartment and the people inside closed all the windows with tragic results.”
The findings of the AIDWA report calling the train fire as essentially originating from within S-6, was later on reaffirmed by the Banerjee Commission Report
Sharing her views about “that fateful journey” the senior communist leader said, “the karsewaks were extremely aggressive because they were made to leave Ayodhya by the contemporary BJP government, their own government, on the orders of the Supreme Court. So they were infuriated.”
Ms. Ali said that out of their fury the Karsewaks attacked Muslims all along the way, misbehaved with Muslim passengers on the platforms and roamed in different other coaches of the Sabarmati Express. They attacked two bearded Muslims at a railway crossing just outside Faizabad, one of whom died and another was admitted in hospital who she personally met and recorded his statement.
Expressing concern at the Godhra judgment, the AIDWA vice-president said, “We are concerned at the Godhra judgment which upheld the conspiracy theory in spite of several loopholes in the version of the prosecution and in spite of acquitting the alleged mastermind, Umerji. But whatever the court may say, AIDWA stands by its report.”