A designated fast track court in Mehsana on Monday sentenced 21 persons to life imprisonment and another to one-year imprisonment in the Dipda Darwaja post-Godhra massacre case. Designated judge S.C. Srivastava acquitted 61 persons.
None of the accused was found guilty of murder or pre-planned conspiracy and the conviction was on the charges of attempt to murder and rioting. Among those acquitted were the former MLA from Visnagar, Prahladbhai Mohanlal Patel, popularly known as Gosa Patel, and a former president of the Visnagar municipality, Dahyabhai Patel, both of the BJP. The former inspector, M.K. Patel, was among those convicted found guilty of dereliction of duty and was awarded one-year imprisonment.
A family of 11 persons, including four children and a 65 year-old woman, was killed in the mob attack at a house in the Dipda Darwaja locality at Visnagar town in north Gujarat on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train carnage.
Dipda Darwaja was one of the nine cases investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team, headed by the former CBI Director, R.K. Raghavan.
While 10 of the accused were given complete acquittal, 51 others including the two BJP leaders were given the benefit of the doubt.
In all, 127 people, including eight eyewitnesses, were examined during the trial. All those convicted, including the former inspector, belonged to the “Patel” community.
The police had initially booked 83 persons for murder, attempt to murder, rioting, kidnapping and such other charges. But later on the direction of the court, following an appeal by one of the witnesses, the former BJP MLA and the former police inspector were also booked. The court, however, found one of the accused to be a minor at the time of the incident and sent him to the juvenile court for a separate trial, while one of the accused died during trial.
"51 others including the two BJP leaders were given the benefit of the doubt"
This is more shocking than the gujarath carnage and government's inaction.
[All those convicted, including the former inspector, belonged to the "Patel" community.] I'm shocked. Isn't it the policy of the Hindu to refer to "members of a certain community"?
Whatever may be the role played by Gujarat government, it is
interesting to note that in Gujarat several post Godhra cases
have resulted in conviction. The fact that the Gujarat police
charged 'perpetrators' in several cases is notable. It is true
that the activism of several groups and the subsequent
high/supreme court action has speeded up the process. In many
other cases in other states including Maharashtra neither the
police nor the activist groups has been effective. No worthwhile
case have been instituted let alone be prosecuted. May be one
needs controversial figures like Mr. Mody (guilty or not) to
serve as triggers!
If the Court is not presented with convincing evidence to convict the accused or murder, what the court do? It is the duty of the prosecution – which includes the police – to prepare and present the case. In this case, the Supreme Court has to intervene, as those responsible for prosecution were found in collusion with the perpetrator. I don’t think we can hope for anything better.
The nexus between the executive and the political systems have to be broken.
The way communal violence and murders are occurring in India, in few years most of
the Indians will be languishing either in relief camps or in jails. Why make such fuss
over religion or caste or anything?? Why almost every Indian's blood boils all the
time??? Is it because for such long time we were building up this anger in the name
of tolerance? Something basic is amiss in our society and if we won't cure it, we as a
society are doomed!! Government should employ some good Sociologist to study our
society and come up with plan to fix us.
Until there is transparency around these court happenings, until the media gives us more details such as exactly who is accused of killing whom, we won't have any idea if justice was done or not.
@ anwar:
our courts work on evidence, not on our wishes...
Unjust completely... The justice has not been delivered.
setback to minorities.
Of the 83 accused 61 acquitted and 22 convicted. If 21 convicted for the attempt to murder then who is responsible for the murder of the five women,one man and five children in the Deepda Darwaza locality.
Is our country safe for the minorities?
What is happening to our judiciary -- 11 members of a single family
were charred down which comes under rare of the rearrest case and the
court has found them guilty under IPC 307. Among the deceased 4 were
children,they deserve only capital punishment and nothing other than that.
We demand to make it public the clean chit given to 61 of 83 accused.
11 members of a family, including 2 children killed, and the court only
finds them guilty of "attempt to murder"? Our justice system has been
reduced to a joke
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