Agencies/Ahmedabad

 

 

Police stand guard outside the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad yesterday after the verdict against 31 people was handed down

A court in Gujarat yesterday convicted 31 people on conspiracy and murder charges over a deadly train fire in 2002 that triggered anti-Muslim rioting in which 2,000 people were killed.

The unrest, some of the worst religious violence in India, was sparked after 59 Hindu pilgrims perished in the train fire at Godhra station in the western state.

Hindus in the state blamed the blaze on Muslim protesters at the station, and furious mobs seeking revenge rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in several cities during three days of bloodshed.

Special public prosecutor J M Panchal told reporters: “Thirty-one people have been convicted under conspiracy and murder charges, 63 others have been acquitted.”

A total of 94 people, all Muslims, stood trial at a court in Ahmedabad where they had been detained since 2002 accused of causing the train blaze.

Responsibility for the fire has been the subject of fierce dispute between Hindu and Muslim communities, and yesterday’s convictions supported Hindu claims that it was a planned attack.

Previously one national inquiry concluded the fire was an accident, though other official investigations contradicted that finding.

“The court has accepted the conspiracy theory. It was not an accident,” Panchal said, adding sentences would be handed down on Friday.

Extra police were on duty across Gujarat to prevent any outbreak of communal violence in the wake of the verdicts, which came after the trial concluded in September.

Local authorities also banned television stations and newspapers from broadcasting or printing the many graphic images taken during the riots to avoid stirring up religious tensions.

Gujarat’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), that leads the national opposition, welcomed the court’s ruling.

“The decision on Godhra has made clear the conspiracy of trying to cover up the entire episode and to put the blame on the victims themselves,” party spokesman Tarun Vijay said.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi - a prominent BJP leader - was accused of failing to stop the riots, and even of encouraging them, with police allegedly ordered not to intervene as the killing spread.

The verdict comes at a time when the BJP has stepped up its campaign against the Congress-led federal government over corruption and high food prices, and has forced the government to accept a cross-party probe into a massive telecoms corruption case.

Many, including the Congress, believe the riots led to the defeat of the BJP in the 2004 general election and tarnished its acceptability in secular India.

Following the riots, the US refused to issue a visa to Modi. The Supreme Court condemned his government as “modern-day Neros” who allowed killings with impunity.

Muslims have always denied setting the train ablaze on February 27, 2002, though an angry crowd had gathered at Godhra station to protest against Hindu passengers allegedly taunting Muslim porters and hawkers.

“There is ample proof to show it was an accident and we will appeal,” said Shaqeel Ahmed, president of the Association for Protection of Civil Rights, which represented the accused.

“The court labels the train carnage as a conspiracy but acquits 63 men. How is this possible?”

Maulvi Umarji, accused of being the mastermind behind the fire, was among those acquitted.

The Hindus on the train were returning from the town of Ayodhya, another flashpoint for inter-religion unrest after a mosque was razed in 1992 by Hindu zealots, leading to riots that killed thousands of people, mostly Muslims.

Modi, who is seen by many in the BJP as a future prime minister, has struggled to shrug off accusations about his handling of the Gujarat riots.