Court acquits 6 in post-Godhra riots case citing lack of 'enough evidence'

Gandhinagar, Gujarat: Around 26 have been acquitted by an additional district court in Kalol in Gujarat's Gandhinagar in connection with the 2002 post-Godhra Riots case citing lack of evidence. On January 31, the court pronounced the order stating that substantial evidence could not be produced owing to a compromise reached between accused and the victim to establish any violence that took place on February 28, 2002. While pronouncing the judgment, Additional District Judge BD Patel, noted that enough evidence against the accused were not available as all the witness turned hostile by claiming that they were unable to identify the accused, who were part of a mob. All the 26 accused were facing charges of, arson, rioting and destruction of properties belonging to people from the Muslim community and vandalising a mosque in Paliyad village. Around 58 people lost their lives when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was torched at the Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002. The incident had triggered large scale riots in Gujarat in which around, reportedly, 1,000 people were killed.