Special court in Gujarat sentences accused in Godhra train carnage case to life imprisonment

india

Updated: Mar 21, 2019 00:07 IST

A special court on Wednesday sentenced Yakub Gani Pataliya, an accused in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case — to life imprisonment .

Sixty three-year-old Pataliya managed to evade police arrest for nearly 16 years.

He was nabbed by the Gujarat police in January 2018.

Additional session judge H C Vora pronounced the verdict at Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad on Wednesday.

“...Pataliya was part of the group that collected petrol, which was later used to set the coach on fire,” public prosecutor Narendra Prajapati said.

With his sentence, a total of 32 accused in the case have been awarded life imprisonment and 11 convicts were given death penalty.

Sixty-three accused have been acquitted in the case by the special investigation team (SIT) court while accepting the conspiracy theory behind the train carnage.

In 2017, however, the Gujarat High Court had reduced the capital punishment of 11 to the life sentence.

On February 27, 2008, coach S6 of Sabarmati Express was set ablaze at Godhra station, killing 59 passengers mostly kar sevaks (volunteers) returning from Ayodhya.

The train carnage had triggered communal violence across the state that left nearly 1,000 people dead, according to official estimates.

A first information report (FIR) was lodged against Pataliya in September 2002.

Sixtythree-year-oldYakub Gani Pataliya faced various charges, including an attempt to murder, unlawful assembly, rioting and causing enmity among members of different religious groups.

The special court had sentenced two men — Farooq Bhana and Imran Sheri — to life imprisonment in August last year.

It acquitted three others, identified as Hussain Suleman Mohan, Kasam Bhamedi and Faruk Dhantiya, all of whom were arrested after 2011.

Eight accused in the case are still absconding.

Last month, the Gujarat government had announced a compensation of ? 5 lakh each for the families of 52 Godhra train carnage victims.