A special SIT court convicted 24 of the 66 accused including a VHP leader in charges of the 2002 post-Godhra Gulberg society massacre. Judge P B Desai acquitted 36 others including sitting BJP corporator Bipin Patel, also dropping conspiracy charge against all the accused. Of those convicted, 11 have been charged with murder while the other 13 are sentenced for lesser offences. The special court said there was no evidence of criminal conspiracy.
The trial, one of the nine major cases probed by the SIT, was in relation with a mob attack launched on February 28, 2002, on a predominantly Muslim society of 29 bungalows, and 10 apartments. Amongst those killed in the violence included Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. Charred remains of 35 people, including Jafri’s, were recovered and 31 people were missing. They were presumed dead after seven years. The attack was in retaliation to the burning down of the Sabarmati Express returning from Ayodhya, near Godhra.
Unsatisfied with the Gujarat Police investigation that saw 39 people chargesheeted, Jafri's wife Zakia had take the Supreme Court's approval for an investigation by a SIT, lead by former CBI chief RK Raghavan. The team arrested 25 more people, filed eight charge sheets and submitted its report on March 15, 2012.
Quantum of sentence for those convicted in the case will be delivered on June 6. Congress corporator Meghsinh Chaudhari and KG Erda, then police inspector of the area, are among those acquitted. The SIT court had orders from the SC to give its verdict by May 31. Riots victim's lawyer argued during the trial saying the massacre was a pre-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused to kil minority community members of the society. The defence rubbished the theory claiming the mob resorted to aggression only after slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri fired several rounds at them.
Displeased with the verdict, Zakia Jafri said her fight wasn't over as yet. "This verdict is half justice to me," she said. "I am very unhappy with the judgement. I will carry on the fight, will do whatever it takes."
