The court also slapped a fine of Rs5,800 each on those jailed for life and Rs3,800 fine on each of those sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
Two days after a special court convicted 23 and acquitted as many in connection with the massacre of 23 people in Gujarat’s Ode village during the 2002 post-Godhra riots, 18 people were sentenced to life imprisonment and a seven-year jail term was handed out to the remaining five.
The court also slapped a fine of Rs5,800 each on those jailed for life and Rs3,800 fine on each of those sentenced to seven years imprisonment.
In her 1,252-page order, judge Poonam Singh said, “attack on people of other religions with the intention to kill, loot and damage property can not be accepted in any manner.” However, she rejected the prosecution plea for capital punishment to all 23 convicted, saying the case does not fall in the “rarest of rare” category as all those convicted were first-time offenders.
The Ode massacre was investigated by the Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team. The Ode case is the third of the nine riot cases investigated by the SIT in which a judgment has been delivered. The other cases are in various stages of trial.
The court also rejected the prosecution’s plea for compensation for the victims on the ground that the government had already paid monetary compensation to those affected during the riots.
All the 47 accused in the case were out on bail during the trial. Those convicted will now be sent to jail to serve their sentence. As soon as the court announced the quantum of sentence, the family members and relatives of those convicted created a ruckus in the court premises and alleged that their kin had been punished without any evidence. Both the parties — the victims as well as those convicted — have decided to challenge the special court’s order in the high court.
Counsels for the convicted, Ashwin Bhagat and CK Patel said they would move the high court. “We will go to the higher forum once we get a copy of the order,” they said.
Meanwhile, the prosecution lawyer, PN Parmar, said the court had not accepted their demand for capital punishment probably because of the ‘psychological effect’ created by the campaign of rights activists.
“I have not read the copy of the order yet. However, I think the court order reflects the psychological effect of the mounting pressure from international and national human rights organization and NGOs who are against capital punishment,” Parmar said.
“We will challenge the lower court’s order before the high court once we get copy of the order,” he added.
Large-scale riots had broken out all across Gujarat after 58 people died in the train fire at Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002.
On March 1, 2002, a mob of 1,500 people pelted stones and ransacked houses and properties belonging to Muslims in Ode village of Anand district. The mob first attacked properties in Surewali Bhagol, a Muslim ghetto, but when police intervened and opened fire, the mob dispersed and began to attack small localities dominated by minority community. The mob attacked buildings in Pirawali Bhagol area of the village which had eight houses belonging to the members of the minority community. People from these houses had taken shelter in the house of one Akbar Khan.
A total of 23 people were charred to death when the mob torched houses by closing it from outside.
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