No justification of riots: Moily on Godhra

Union Law Minister Veerappa Moily on Tuesday said death penalty for 11 convicts in the Godhra train carnage is not enough as the judgement did not justify the communal riots that broke out after the incident.

A special court in Gujarat, which held 31 people guilty of burning to death 59 Hindu religious volunteers in a train in the state in 2002, on Tuesday pronounced death sentence for 11 of the convicts while the remaining 20 were handed down life term.

?Sentencing the convicts in Godhra train carnage is not enough. Today’s judgment does not justify the riots that followed after it,? Moily told reporters outside Parliament in New Delhi.

?Trial of those cases has to go on independently and culprits have to be punished,? he said.

Those who were given death sentence by the court in Sabarmati are: Ismail Sujela Ilyas Haji Bilal, Ramjani Binyamin Behra, Rajat Kurkur, Jabbir Binyamin Behra, Siraj Bala, Irrfan Bhopa Kalandar, Irrfan Pataria, Mehboob Latika, Hasan Lalu, Mehbood Chanda and Salim Iliyas Salman Jarda.

Rajendra Tiwari, prosecution lawyer, said it was a 900 page judgement and it is difficult to say immediately why one person has been given death penalty and one life sentence.

He said nothing was pronounced by judge regarding a minor (in 2002) involved in the crime.

The reasoning part of the verdict and sentencing was not known immediately but they were awarded death sentence after the judge looked into their roles in the crime, said G M Panchal, Special Prosecutor.

He said those who served nine years in jail already will get their sentencing adjusted against the rest of the years.

He said life term means 20 years in jail, but it can be reduced to 14 years by the state.

Those who got death sentence included Abdul Razzak Kurkur, owner of the Aman Guest House where the conspiracy was hatched, and Haji Bilal, one of the key accused.

Those who got death penalty were part of planning and executing the carnage.

A week ago, the court said the convicted persons will be awarded punishment under Section 302 and 120 B of the Indian Penal Code for burning the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express on Feb 27, 2002 at Godhra.

The prime accused in the Godhra train carnage, Maulana Umarji, has been acquitted.

The majority of the casualties were Kar Sevaks, who were returning from Ayodhya.

The court, however, acquitted 63 , including the key accused Maulvi Umarji while deciding on the role of over 90 people accused of burning the train.

The court set free the Maulavi for lack of proper evidence against him, though a Special Investigation Team (SIT) had accused the Maulvi of ordering to mobilise a mob and set fire the particular coach of the train.

Around 1,000 supporters of the Maulvi had attacked the coach at the Godhra station and torched it killing 59 people and injuring many.

Policemen were deployed around the court and neighbouring areas Tuesday to maintain law and order and peace.