Life term for 11 in Gujarat riot case

The case relates to incidents that took place on March 3 and March 5, 2002, in Ajanwa village, some 20 km from the taluka headquarters town of Santrampur.

After hearing of the Godhra carnage of February 27, Muslims living in the village had fled to the fields and the jungles around it. Some of them would return to their homes at night.

According to the case papers, there was no violence in the village till March 3, when a mob of villagers ransacked and burnt empty houses and shops that belonged to Muslims. It cornered one Gulab Kalu, who was never found.

In the incident of March 5, a mob of villagers caught hold of 16 Muslims, including old men, women, and children. Some were burnt alive, some hacked to death and then burnt. Most of the bodies were dumped into two dry wells.

When police arrived the next day, three women were found alive inside the wells. They also found others left for dead. They recovered from the wells the bodies of eight adults and three children.

The FIR named 34 accused, including the 29 named in the March 3 incident.

Two brothers from the village, Razak and Gafoor Sheikh, became complainants in the FIRs for the two incidents. Gafoor’s wife Ruqaiah was one of those killed.

The FIR for the March 3 incident names 29 suspects, and that for the March 5 incident names 34, including those named in the first. Both FIRs were clubbed together and treated as one case, tried in the court of additional sessions judge R D Thakar.

In the March 3 incident, the court handed down ten years’ imprisonment to Raising Poonja, Bharat Poonja, and Dhana Rupa. They were also fined Rs 250 each, with an additional 15 days in prison for defaulting on the fine.

In the March 5 incident, the court handed down life terms to Dalpat Baria, Kalu Sana, Kalu Soma, Bana Fata, Raising, Dhana Rupa, Balwant Jiwa, Natwar, Ratna Kalu, Rupa Soma, and Salam Aba.

Counsel Siraj Malik, Aslam Beg, and N A Sheikh, who appeared for the complainants, said the verdict would help instill confidence in the Muslim community. Family members of the accused, who had gathered to hear the verdict, seemed despondent even before it was announced.

Government pleader P L Gandhi said this post-Godhra riot case was the fourth from the district resulting in conviction. Two of the earlier cases had also been heard by the same judge.

The Panchmahals had seen the worst riots in the aftermath of the February 27, 2002 burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra that left 57 Kar Sevaks dead.