By TCN Special Correspondent,
Ahmedabad: A Gujarat court on Friday sentenced nine persons to life term in connection with the killing of three Muslims in Malav Bhagol area of Ode village in Anand district during 2002 anti-Muslim riots in the state.
Additional sessions judge of Anand district R M Sarin sentenced the accused on charges of murder under section 302 of IPC and criminal conspiracy under section 120-B of IPC.
The sentence was given for the killing of Ayesha Vohra, Nuriben Vohra and Qaderbhai Vohra, all from the same family, on March 1, 2002, a few days after Godhra train burning incident. The complaint in the case was filed by one Rehana Yusufbhai Vohra, a relative of the deceased persons.
The judge, however, acquitted 32 other accused as no evidence was found by the police against them. During the trial, the court had examined 67 witnesses and 98 documentary evidences.
A mob of over 2,000 persons had surrounded the houses of the deceased from all sides and killed the three by setting the house on fire. The case was initially investigated by the Gujarat police but later on probed by a Special Investigation Team(SIT) set up by the Supreme Court.
There were three incidents of killing in Ode village during 200 riots. This is the second case in which the convictions were announced. In the first case, another court had sentenced 18 people to life imprisonment and awarded seven years jail to five others, in connection with burning alive of 23 Muslims. The third incident was, however, not registered separately but merged with the first case.
The Ode massacre is among the 10 most heinous riot cases probed by SIT. Convictions have been given by the court in two other cases as well investigated by SIT. A total of 31 persons were given life sentence in November 2011, for burning to death 33 Muslims in Sardarpura village of Mehsana district during post-Godhra riots.
In February 2011, 31 persons were found guilty for setting afire S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express at Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002. However, another 63 were acquitted in the case as no evidence could be found against them. Muslims were suspected of their involvement in torching of the train which killed 59 Hindu passengers. And hence, Muslims all over the state were targetted by Hindu mobs to take the revenge.
The Godhra train burning incident, however, is still matter of controversy. It is yet not clear as to who burnt it and how it was burnt. But a commission of inquiry appointed by the Narendra Modi government in 2003 and headed by Justice (retd) G T Nanavati concluded in its
Part I report in July 2008 that the Godhra train torching incident was a result of conspiracy. But a
one man commission of Justice(retd) Banerjee appointed by the Union Ministry of Railways in 2005 found that the fire in the train was an accident caused by cooking of food on a kerosene stove inside the coach. Banerjee report categorically stated that the fire was not a result of any attack from outside.
Part I report of Nanavati commission tabled in the state assembly in July 2008 also absolved Chief Minister Narendra Modi of his role in the post-Godhra riots. The commission is yet to complete the second part of the report.
Modi was also exonerated by a metropolitan court in April this year. The court said that SIT investigators did not find any evidence connecting Modi to the Gulberg Society mass massacre case. Former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri was among 69 persons killed in the society. The SIT had investigated on the basis of a complaint by Jafri’s widow Zakia Jafri. Zakia in her complaint to the Supreme Court had alleged that there was an overarching conspiracy involving Modi, his ministers and some of the top civil and police bureaucrats. SIT report exonerating Modi was used by his supporters to claim that Modi was innocent and his political detractors were trying to defame him by linking him with the riots.
Modi has also been denying about his role in the riots. But he has never expressed remorse or regret over failing to check the riots as he was chief minister even during the riots. However, Modi has been largely held responsible for the riots by the Muslims.