Gulbarg Society massacre: Special court convicts 24, acquits 36; sentencing on June 6

AHMEDABAD: A special court on Thursday convicted 24 of the 62 accused in a 2002 Gujarat riots case in which a mob massacred 69 persons at a housing society on February 28, a day after a train coach full of kar sevaks was set on fire. Judge P.B. Desai, handling cases being probed by a Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation team, acquitted 36 of the accused in what has come to be known as the Gulberg Society case. The Gulberg Society case is one of the nine cases relating to the widespread riots in Gujarat in 2002 that are being probed by the Supreme Court appointed SIT. The trial had ended on September 22, 2015. The Supreme Court, which is monitoring the case, had directed the SIT court to give its verdict by May 31. Sentences will be pronounced on June 6. The SIT had named 66 as accused, of which nine have been in jail for 15 years now while the others are out on bail. One of the accused acquitted is Bipin Patel, a sitting Bharatiya Janata Party corporator from Asarva seat. He was also the corporator in 2002 when the massacre happened and won the election for fourth consecutive term last year. Talking to ABP News, Zakia Jafri, wife of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, said she is disappointed with the verdict. "My fight will continue. I am disappointed with the verdict," she said. Last week, the court had turned down pleas moved by two accused to conduct narco analysis and brain mapping tests on them to prove their innocence. The court maintained that it was not required when the verdict was imminent. During the trial, the lawyer for the riot victims had argued that the massacre was a pre-planned criminal conspiracy hatched by the accused to kill Muslim members of the Gulberg Society. The defence had challenged this conspiracy theory, and claimed that the mob resorted to violence only after Congress MP Eshan Jafri, who was killed by the mob, fired several rounds on them. The incident had taken place a day after a coach of the Sabarmati Express was burnt down near Godhra train station, leading to the death of 58 kar sevaks or Hindu volunteers returning from Ayodhya. The Gulberg Society case is one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court appointed SIT. The incident had taken place a day after S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt near Godhra train station, where in 58 'karsevaks' were killed.