AHMEDABAD: Thirteen years after the incident, a SIT court in Himmatnagar on Friday acquitted six accused persons in the killing of three British nationals near Prantij during the 2002 riots.
Special judge I C Shah exonerated Mithanbhai Patel, Chandu alias Prahlad Patel, Ramesh Patel, Manoj Patel, Rajesh Patel and Kalabhai Patel, all residents of Prantij for want of evidence. Three eye witnesses in this case turned hostile during the trial, and the prosecution relied on Jessica Lal murder case’s verdict, which had also witnessed hostility on part of the witnesses but later intervention on part of higher court led to conviction.
The court noticed that the prosecution failed to establish its cases beyond reasonable doubt.
On February, 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra carnage, four persons including three British citizens were killed during post-Godhra violence on National Highway No 8 near Vadvasa village near Prantij town of Sabarkantha district. They were Saeed Dawood, Shakeel Dawood and Mohammed Aswat. A local driver Yusuf Sulaiman Piraghar was also allegedly burnt alive by a mob. Another visitor from UK Imran Dwood sustained injuries but managed to escape and later filed a complaint about the incident.
During the trial, three eye witnesses to this incident – Kalusinh, Badarsinh an Dalpat turned hostile and refused to identify the six accused persons. After investigation was transferred to the Special Investigation Team by the Supreme Court in 2008, the probe agency demanded their remand, but the court denied the custodial interrogation on the ground that they cannot be remanded back to police custody twice in one offence.
The delay in the trial took place due to various reasons. Two British envoys were examined through video-conferencing and then the prosecution demanded re-examination of the complainant and the video footage and transcript of his deposition were sent to FSL for analysis. When the FSL failed to decipher the speech, the court rejected the proposal and ordered the parties to go ahead with final arguments.
In 2008, the SC shifted probe to SIT in nine cases. Special courts have till date delivered verdict in six cases – Godhra train burning case, Naroda Patia, Sardarpur massacre, Dipda Darwaza and two cases of Ode town. In all six cases, the courts have recorded conviction. More than 130 persons have been convicted in these cases to life imprisonment. Eleven persons have been awarded death sentence in the Godhra carnage case.
TOI | Feb 27, 2015
Contact Lawyers In India : https://lawintellectindia.com/contact-us/