Activists, NGOs stand vindicated

AHMEDABAD: Four years after coach no S-6 of the ill-fated Sabarmati Express was burnt at Godhra station, the Justice U C Banerjee Commission’s report was welcomed by NGOs and activists alike.

Lawyer and activist Mukul Sinha, whose Jan Sangharsh Manch had filed an affidavit before the Nanavati-Shah Commission in 2002 said, “We totally support and welcome the finding as it reiterates our view. We placed all the evidence before the Commission,” he added.

Others too seem to be agreeing with him. “Whilst it was definitely horrendous that so many people met with a tragic death, it was totally unwarranted, without conclusive evidence, that a whole community had to be targeted, demonised and brutally attacked and that too, with the connivance of the state government,” said another leading activist, Father Cedric Prakash. 

The Gujarat State Forensic Science Laboratory Report had, in 2002, ascertained that the train could never have been burnt from outside. The Concerned Citizens Tribunal headed by Justice Krishna Iyer, in its findings, very categorically maintained that the Godhra incident did not appear to be pre-planned and that the fire had occurred from within. 

Fr Cedric demanded that, “At this juncture, it is imperative that citizens from all walks of life wake up, ensure that justice is done to the innocent victims of the Gujarat carnage by bringing to book those responsible for the loss of life and property and work towards Gujarat becoming a safe, secure and peaceful place for everyone.”