The Gujarat High Court on Friday upheld the conviction of 19 of the 23 persons who were found guilty and convicted by the SIT (Special Investigation Team) trial court in the Ode massacre case of the 2002 riots, in which 23 persons belonging to the minority community were killed by rioters in Anand district, central Gujarat.
The High Court also upheld the acquittal of 23 others by the trial court.
Maintains sentences
Acting on a set of appeals filed against the trial court’s order, a High Court Bench of Justices Akil Kureshi and B. N. Karia upheld the life sentence of 14 convicts, as well as the seven-year jail terms given to five others. The court also ordered the release of those who have completed their seven-year jail term.
The High Court acquitted three persons — Dilip Patel, Lalji Patel and Natubhai Patel— who were earlier convicted by the trial court in 2012, while one person, Harish Patel, who was convicted earlier, died during the pendency of his appeal in the HC. All four were sentenced to life imprisonment by the trial court.
The brutal killings of 23 persons, including nine women and as many children of the minority community, by members of the majority community of Patidars in Ode village was one of the nine cases handed over to the SIT headed by the former Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) Director Dr. R.K. Raghavan for re-investigation.
The incident occurred on March 1, 2002, when a mob gathered at Pirwali Bhagol, a minority locality, and burnt a house in which people had taken shelter fearing attacks by the rioting mob.
In the High Court, the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which probed the case, along with the State prosecution and the victims sought death penalty for the convicts given life imprisonment and enhanced sentences to those awarded seven-year jail terms.
They also sought conviction of the 23 people who were acquitted by the trial court.
