Gujarat Court Acquits 35 Accused in 2002 Riots, Blames 'Pseudo-Secular' People For Long Trial
New Delhi: A sessions court in Halol town in Gujarat has acquitted 35 people who were accused of murder and rioting during the state's 2002 riots.
Judge Harsh B. Trivedi said on Monday, June 12 that there was no evidence that the accused committed the offences they were charged with and chastised "pseudo-secular persons" for prolonging trial in the case.
"Due to uproar of pseudo-secular media and organisation, the accused persons have unnecessarily to face prolonged trial [sic]. In the result, I hold that the prosecution can not succeed as it has not substantially proved the very story it alleged," Judge Trivedi said in his order.
He also said that the accused involved prominent members of the Hindu community, and quoted freedom fighter Kanhaiyalal Munshi as saying that "every time there is inter-communal conflict, the majority is blamed regardless of merits of the question".
According to the Press Trust of India, the accused were blamed for violence in and around Kalol town in Gujarat's Panchmahal district (152 km southeast of Ahmedabad, the state's largest city) in February 2002 that killed three people.
The violence occurred after coaches in the Ahmedabad-bound Sabarmati Express were torched at Godhra railway station, killing 59 people.
S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express during the 2002 Godhra riots. Credits: PTI
Hundreds of people died and thousands were injured in communal riots that erupted across Gujarat following the Sabarmati incident.
Judge Trivedi insisted that the riots were spontaneous in nature.
"Report says that sixteen of Gujarat's 24 Districts were engulfed in communal rioting post-Godhra riots. Nowhere mobs were less than 2-3000, more. Often they were more than 5-10,000 strong. There were spontaneous set of riots in Gujarat. They were not planned one, as described by pseudo-secular persons [sic]," he said.
The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.
