The court said the men killed two people during the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots

A local court on Wednesday held seven men guilty of killing two people in Kawal village in an attack which is said to have triggered the 2013 Muzaffarnagar riots that led to killings of over 60 people.

Additional district and sessions judge Himashu Bhatnagar convicted Muzammil, Mujassim, Furkan, Nadeem, Janangir, Afzal and Ikbal for killing Gaurav and Sachin on August 27, 2013 and rioting, said district prosecution counsel Rajiv Sharma.

The court will pronounce the quantum of sentences on Friday.

According to the First Information Report (FIR), the two youths of Kawal village under Jansath police station area were battered to death by five of the men.

The two other accused, Afzal and Iqbal, however, were summoned by the court later under provisions of Section 319 of the Criminal Procedure Code when the evidence of their complicity in the killings emerged during the trial.

The court convicted the seven after examining 10 prosecution witnesses and six in their defence.

As per official figures, given by prosecution counsel Mr Sharma, over 6,000 cases were filed following the 2013 riots and 1,480 accused were arrested for their alleged roles in the riots. A special investigation team, which probed the cases, had filed chargesheets in 175 cases.

Fifty-six of them involving 430 accused resulted in acquittal. The state government has withdrawn some cases.