Gujarat massacre: 18 gets life; 7 years RI for 5

AHMEDABAD: A special
court in Gujarat’s Anand
district on Thursday pronounced
the quantum of
sentence in the 2002 Ode
village massacre case and
awarded a life term to 18
convicts.
The special court also
awarded seven years of rigorous
imprisonment to remaining
fi ve convicts. On
Monday, almost a decade after
a mob killed 23 Muslims,
including nine children, in
the Ode village, the special
court convicted 23 of the 47
people accused in the case.
The court also acquitted 23
others in the case and one
accused had already died
during trial.
Special court judge PB
Singh delivered verdict
against 47 accused in the
case.
The Ode massacre was
one amongst the nine post-
Godhra riot cases investigated
by the Supreme Court
appointed Special Investigating
Team (SIT). The
massacre took place after 59
karsevaks were charred to
death in the fi re that broke
out in the S6 compartment
of Sabarmati Express train
at Godhra railway station on
February 27, 2002.
The case was fi rst investigated
by the local police
but, later, it was handed
over to the Supreme Courtappointed
SIT, which fi led
a charge-sheet against 47
accused in the case. One of
the accused died during trial
while two others fl ed abroad
after getting bail and have
been evading trial.
The SIT has urged the
court to place the incident in
the rarest of the rare category.
It is, therefore, likely to
seek capital punishment or
life sentence for the accused
who were allegedly actively
involved in the massacre.
Out of the 10 riot cases
investigated by the SIT on
the instructions of the Apex
Court, this would be the
third in which a judgment
will be given. Last year,
the special courts set up for
trial of the riot cases had
pronounced judgment in
the Sabarmati Express train
carnage case and the Sardarpura
riot case of Mehsana
district.
In the Ode case, special
prosecutor PN Parmar had
earlier argued on behalf of
the SIT that the complicity
of the accused in the case
had been established from
the evidences on record and
eyewitness accounts, in addition
to the scientifi c and
medical evidence.
He had further argued
that the court should look
at the gravity of the offence
in which nine children were
among the 23 innocent people
killed by the mob.