On February 27, 2002, a mob had attacked the Sabarmati Express and had set it on fire.
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Ahmedabad Police on Wednesday arrested a man, who is one of the key conspirators in the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Gujarat’s Godhra railway station in 2002, from Malegaon in Maharashtra.
Ahmedabad crime branch has nabbed Imran Batuk, key accused in 2002 Godhra train incident, from Malegaon. He is accused of setting the coach of the train on fire.
Earlier in May, a team of Gujarat Anti-terrorism Squad (ATS) had arrested Faruq Bhana from the Kalol-Khadki toll plaza in Panchmahal district, where he was meeting his family.
Bhatuk was arrested from Malegaon in Maharashtra, after being on the run for 14 years.
The coach was then set ablaze from outside by other accused after locking the doors. “He was hiding there and was involved in illegal sand mining”, said a senior officer from the crime branch.
The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed the case charged 94 people. 59 people had been killed in the incident, which had lead to the bloody riots that had engulfed the state of Gujarat, the same year. The court convicted 31 of them, out of them, 11 were sentenced to death while 20 were given life term.
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“Four to five accused in the case are still absconding”.
