Ahmedabad Police on Wednesday arrested a man, who is one of the key conspirators in the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Gujarat’s Godhra railway station in 2002, from Malegaon in Maharashtra.
Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) officials said Imran Batuk, who was absconding for 14 years, was among those who had set the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express on fire near the Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002.
As many as 59 people, mostly kar sevaks who were returning from a visit to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh, were killed in the incident that triggered widespread communal riots in the state.
“Imran’s name figures in the second chargesheet (of the carnage case) as one of the main accused,” a police officer said.
In May, Gujarat anti-terrorism squad (ATS) arrested Faruq Bhana, one of the masterminds, from Panchmahal district in Gujarat. He was the corporator of Polan-Bazar area of Godhra when the incident took place.
The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed the case charged 94 people. Thirty one accused were convicted and the remaining 63 acquitted in 2011. Of these, 11 were awarded the death sentence and the rest were sentenced to life imprisonment.
{{/usCountry}}The Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team that probed the case charged 94 people. Thirty one accused were convicted and the remaining 63 acquitted in 2011. Of these, 11 were awarded the death sentence and the rest were sentenced to life imprisonment.
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