As many 31 people were burnt alive in a house in Sardarpura village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana district on the night of March 1, 2002.
The final verdict in the Sardarpura massacre case of 2002 will be announced on Wednesday. One of the most brutal incidents of the post-Godhra riots, the Sardarpur massacre is one of the nine cases to be investigated by the special investigation team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court.
As many 31 people were burnt alive in a house in Sardarpura village in Vijapur taluka of Mehsana district on the night of March 1, 2002. The rioting mob had locked the house from outside and set it on fire after pouring inflammable material on it.
A total of 73 people are facing trial in the case, eight of whom are in jail. The rest are out on bail. During the trial, the prosecution examined 112 people as witnesses.
While concluding the arguments for the prosecution, the prosecution lawyer as well as the advocates for the witnesses said the accused should be held guilty as there was ample evidence showing their involvement in the killings. Out of the 73 accused in the case, eight people - alleged to be key conspirators who had also been identified by the victims and witnesses - were arrested by the SIT.
The defense lawyer argued that the accused, who belonged to the same village, had no role to play in the attack that took place on March 1, 2002. They contended that the attackers were from the neighbouring village.
The advocate for the witnesses refuted their arguments and contended that a mob of outsiders could not have located the house and attacked it. It was difficult for outsiders to organise such an attack, the lawyer said.
As per the police case, a mob of around 1,500 people allegedly attacked the Muslim locality of Shaikh Vaas which had around 20 kutcha houses. After the incident, many people left the place but around 100 people stayed back.
When the mob attacked the area, the residents of Shaikh Vaas took shelter in the only house of concrete in the locality, that of one Mehmood Shaikh. The rioting mob allegedly locked the house from outside and set it on fire after pouring inflammable material on the building. Twenty-eight people died on the spot while three others succumbed to their injuries later.
Most eyewitnesses of the case could survive reportedly because they were hiding in houses that were adjacent to the houses owned by the local Hindus and were not attacked by the mob.
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