A special court in the Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad convicted 31 accused in what is the first verdict in the Godhra train burning case.
In the 850-page judgment delivered by Justice P R Patil, 63 accused, including prime accused Maulvi Omerjee, were acquitted in the case.
The sentencing would be announced on February 25 after arguments on the quantum of punishment by the special court that accepted the theory of conspiracy behind the burning of the coach of Sabarmati Express that returning from Ayodhya at Godhra on February 27, 2002, in which 59 people were burnt alive and it gives the path to the communal riots that rocked Gujarat.
Godhra is also one of the religious places in the India which has four bethaks for Vaishnav Sampraday. Two bethaks are of Lord Gokulnathji, and one each for Lord Gusaiji and Lord Mahaprabhuji. Godhra also has three beautiful Jain temples.
Godhra is royally known in India and internationally because of Godhra train burning on 27 February 2002, near the Godhra railway station.
The Special Investigation Team, which was inquiring into the Godhra train burning incident, on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the verdict in the case. SIT Head R K Raghavan told PTI "I have a mixed opinion on the judgement. I am satisfied with the Godhra train burning verdict, but I am pained as so many lives were lost due to the incident"
High Court, Raghavan said, "We will decide it after we get a full copy of the judgement."
31 people were convicted and 63 others, including the main accused Maulvi Umarji, were acquitted by a special court in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident in which 59 people died and the violence triggered by it in Gujarat claimed the lives of over 1,200 people.
The statements of witness Ajay Bariya and key accused Jabbir Behra could be an important element in the Godhra verdict. Bariya's statement, considered to be one of the most important.
Bariya, then a tea vendor at the Godhra Railway Station, in his statement under section 164, told the police how a group of people came together to attack the train and passengers with petrol, swords and other weapons. Bariya revealed how kerosene was taken from the Aman Hotel and how passengers in the S-2 and S-3 coaches were forced to gather in one coach that is S-6.
Another one of the accused Behra's statement is believed to have been significant in proving that the attack on the S-6 coach of the train. He told investigators about a meeting held at the Aman Guest House and purchase of petrol a day before the attack.
Behra had mentioned in his statement how he and other people were told to attack the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express and how the entire attack was planned at the Aman Guest House along with the other people arrested in the case.
In the 850-page judgment delivered by Justice P R Patil, 63 accused, including prime accused Maulvi Omerjee, were acquitted in the case.
The sentencing would be announced on February 25 after arguments on the quantum of punishment by the special court that accepted the theory of conspiracy behind the burning of the coach of Sabarmati Express that returning from Ayodhya at Godhra on February 27, 2002, in which 59 people were burnt alive and it gives the path to the communal riots that rocked Gujarat.
Godhra is also one of the religious places in the India which has four bethaks for Vaishnav Sampraday. Two bethaks are of Lord Gokulnathji, and one each for Lord Gusaiji and Lord Mahaprabhuji. Godhra also has three beautiful Jain temples.
Godhra is royally known in India and internationally because of Godhra train burning on 27 February 2002, near the Godhra railway station.
The Special Investigation Team, which was inquiring into the Godhra train burning incident, on Tuesday expressed satisfaction with the verdict in the case. SIT Head R K Raghavan told PTI "I have a mixed opinion on the judgement. I am satisfied with the Godhra train burning verdict, but I am pained as so many lives were lost due to the incident"
High Court, Raghavan said, "We will decide it after we get a full copy of the judgement."
31 people were convicted and 63 others, including the main accused Maulvi Umarji, were acquitted by a special court in the 2002 Godhra train burning incident in which 59 people died and the violence triggered by it in Gujarat claimed the lives of over 1,200 people.
The two statements that changed the Godhra story
The statements of witness Ajay Bariya and key accused Jabbir Behra could be an important element in the Godhra verdict. Bariya's statement, considered to be one of the most important.
Bariya, then a tea vendor at the Godhra Railway Station, in his statement under section 164, told the police how a group of people came together to attack the train and passengers with petrol, swords and other weapons. Bariya revealed how kerosene was taken from the Aman Hotel and how passengers in the S-2 and S-3 coaches were forced to gather in one coach that is S-6.
Another one of the accused Behra's statement is believed to have been significant in proving that the attack on the S-6 coach of the train. He told investigators about a meeting held at the Aman Guest House and purchase of petrol a day before the attack.
Behra had mentioned in his statement how he and other people were told to attack the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express and how the entire attack was planned at the Aman Guest House along with the other people arrested in the case.
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