23 Muslims were burnt alive by a mob at Ode village in Anand district on March 1, 2002; fate of 44 accused to be decided today
On Monday, special court judge PB Singh will pronounce judgment in the Ode massacre case of 2002. In the massacre which took place on March 1, 2002 at Ode village in Anand district, 23 people were burnt to death by a riotous mob over 1500 strong.
Another elderly man was burnt alive by a mob the next day.
The massacre took place after 59 karsevaks were charred to death in the fire that broke out in the S6 compartment of Sabarmati Express train at Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002.
In the massacre on March 1, 2002, 23 people were burnt alive by the mob in the Pirawali Bhagol area of the village. On March 2, 2002, an elderly person, Rasoolmiya, was burnt to death in the Surewali Bhagol area of Ode.
The case was first investigated by the local police but, later, it was handed over to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) which filed a charge-sheet against 47 accused in the case. One of the accused died during trial while two others fled abroad after getting bail and have been evading trial.
The SIT has urged the court to place the incident in the rarest of the rare category. It is, therefore, likely to seek capital punishment or life sentence for the accused who were allegedly actively involved in the massacre.
Out of the 10 riot cases investigated by the SIT on the instructions of the Apex Court, this would be the third in which a judgment will be given. The investigation of the 10 cases was handed over to the SIT by the Supreme Court in 2008.
Last year, the special courts set up for trial of the riot cases had pronounced judgment in the Sabarmati Express train carnage case and the Sardarpura riot case of Mehsana district.
In the Ode case, special prosecutor PN Parmar argued on behalf of the SIT that the complicity of the accused in the case had been established from the evidences on record and eyewitness accounts, in addition to the scientific and medical evidence.
He had further argued that the court should look at the gravity of the offence in which nine children were among the 23 innocent people killed by the mob.
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