Godhra acquitted dies waiting for family

Baitullah Teli, the accused no. 2 in Godhra train carnage and freed by the court for lack of evidence nine days ago, has died of a heart attack.

He was released on February 22 after spending nine years in jail and was staying in Godhra

The 80-year-old died on Wednesday night waiting for his family to come from Uttar Pradesh and deposit the surety amount of Rs10,000. He did not have money to deposit with police as ordered by the court.

Teli was picked up by police on February 27, 2002 from the spot with a stick. His house was adjacent to that of Maulvi Umarji who was arrested as one of the key conspirators. Umarji too was freed along with Teli. Three persons had identified him during the identification parade. However, one of them turned hostile and eventually Teli was freed.

District superintendent of police of Godhra JR Muthalia said they were not aware of the death and if that was a natural death, there was no need of police verification. Teli’s body would be sent to his native place.

(With inputs from Ismail Zabha in Godhra)