A Special Sessions Court convicted 24 people guilty and pronounced 36 others as innocent in the 14-year-long Gulberg Society massacre case in Gujarat. As a reaction, communal riots spread across many cities and an armed mob attacked Gulbarg Housing Society in Ahmedabad.
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The Gulbarg Society was a cluster of 29 bungalows and 10 apartment buildings in Chamanpura locality of Ahmedabad.
Patel was the corporator on Feb 28, 2002 when a Hindu mob of rioters scaled the walls of the building cluster housing mainly Muslim families and slaughtered residents, a day after 59 passengers, majority Hindu pilgrims, perished in a fire which broke out on the Sabarmati Express near Godhra train station.
The enraged mob assembled at the place from around 9 am onward, and began shouting slogans. Jafri was hacked to death and later burnt. How can anyone without fear of law go and kill people?
Subsequently, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) demanded a CBI probe into the Gulberg society case along with the Naroda Patiya massacre, Best Bakery case etc.
Among the accused are Congress councillor Meghji Chaudhary and and VHP leader Atul Vaidh. Most of the houses were burnt.
Special Special Investigation Team (SIT) Court Judge PB Desai delivered the judgment today, eight months after the trial concluded on September a year ago. Both had alleged bias on the part of the trial judge and also accused the SIT of not properly coordinating their efforts with them. He made an appearance before the SIT.
Meanwhile, the city court on September 22, 2015, concluded the trial in the massacre after prosecution examined 338 witnesses and the final arguments ended. “I will have to continue my legal battle (approaching the higher court again) as well”, Zakia said.
In 2013, Zakia filed another petition, challenging SIT’s clean chit to Modi, alleging that SIT had “covered up the crimes and misled the court”, as reported by Hindustan Times. However, eventually this was not successful.
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The trial in the case was being monitored by the Supreme Court, which recently gave its nod for pronouncement of the judgment. 24 people have been convicted, while 36 others have been acquitted in the case. Of the 24, 13 have been charged with lesser offences.
