Court lets off 107 Godhra riot accused

A local court on Tuesday acquitted 107 suspects in a post-Godhra riot case, blaming police for failing to identify the killers of two men fr...

A local court on Tuesday acquitted 107 suspects in a post-Godhra riot case, blaming police for failing to identify the killers of two men from a group they were escorting.

Judge P M Atodaria of the city sessions court observed that policemen had also failed in their duty by not gauging the tense situation, not calling for reinforcements in time and by being shoddy in investigation.

Other witnesses to the March 17, 2002, mob attack, too, failed to point out the killers during identification parades at a police station and in court. Of 45 witnesses examined, 23 turned hostile.

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When the post-Godhra reprisals began on February 28, Muslims from the Avdhoot Nagar slums in Makarpura fled. On March 17, 50 wanted to return and collect household goods and SI N J Vanecha was asked to escort them.

But while they were returning from Avdhoot Nagar around 2 pm, they found the road blocked with rocks and gunny sacks. As SI Vanecha and his team got down to clear the way, a mob of some 2,000 people surrounded the convoy. At 2.19 pm, Vanecha called headquarters for reinforcement. But by then, two of the Muslims had been killed by the mob.

The reinforcements arrived before further violence and police took 113 people in custody. But while appearing in court, Vanecha said that he could not positively identify the killers from any of those rounded up. Other policemen deposed on the same lines. Eye-witnesses from among those injured, too, failed to identify the killers, leading to the acquittal.

Vanecha, who had been suspended following the killing, was subsequently reinstated and is now posted in Ahmedabad.