Gulbarg Society massacre: Juvenile found guilty of rioting 20 years later

He has been fined ₹15,000 for being part of the mob that attacked the housing society and will also carry out community service at a hospital for three months

Ahmedabad: A 35-year-old man, who was 15 at the time of the Gulbarg Housing Society massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots, has been found guilty of rioting 20 years later. Sixty-nine people, including former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the massacre.

Sixty-nine people, including former Congress lawmaker Ehsan Jafri, were killed in the massacre. (HT PHOTO)

Juvenile Justice Board’s principal magistrate D A Jhadav fined the man ₹15,000 on Thursday after finding him guilty of being part of the mob that attacked the housing society. The man will carry out community service at a hospital for three months under the watch of probation officers.

The man was 21 when the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) began its probe into the massacre in 2008. Three other juveniles at the time of the massacre were acquitted in the case for the want of evidence.

The 35-year-old worked at a bakery and joined the mob that attacked the residents of the housing Society, set fire to 17 residential units, a religious place, and looted the residents. His role was established during the cross-examination.

Thirty-nine people were first arrested for their role in the massacre. The SIT made 25 more arrests. In June 2016, a special court found 24 people guilty of the massacre. Eleven were convicted of murder and 13 of rioting while 36 accused were acquitted.