Gujarat: A court at Halol town in Gujarat’s Panchmahal district has acquitted 22 people, accused of killing 17 Muslims including two children during 2002 Gujarat violence.
According to the prosecution, the 17 Muslims were killed on February 28, 2002, and their bodies were burnt with the intention to destroy evidence, PTI reported.
The court of Additional Sessions Judge Harsh Trivedi on Tuesday acquitted all the 22 accused, eight of whom died during the pendency of the case, news agency reported quoting defence lawyer Gopalsinh Solanki as saying.
The court acquitted all the accused in the case of violence and murder of 17 Muslims, including two children, in Delol village of the district for want of evidence, Solanki said.
Pertinently, on 28 February 2002, Hindu mobs who were part of the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP), Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), unleashed massive violence against Muslims in Gujarat that went on for weeks killing thousands of Muslims.
About 3,000 Muslims were killed. Some 20,000 Muslim homes and businesses and 360 places of worship were destroyed, and roughly 150,000 people were displaced.
The massacre was unleashed after the burning of 59 Karsevaks on board the Sabarmati Express in Godhra which was probed and declared an accident.
Modi, the current Prime Minister of India, was accused of initiating and condoning the violence, instructing police to stand by and let Hindu mobs do acts of violence against Muslims.
Strong evidence links the Modi administration in Gujarat to the carefully orchestrated anti-Muslim attacks.
Hindu mobs had detailed lists of Muslim residents and businesses, and violence occurred within view of police stations.
An independent media, Tehelka, used hidden cameras to capture some of the accused speaking openly about how the attacks had Modi’s blessings.
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