Kingpin among 63 acquitted

Feb 23, 2011 - Deepal trivedi |

Age Correspondent

Ahmedabad

Among the 63 people acquitted in the Godhra verdict on Monday, there is Maulvi Umarji who was arrested as the kingpin and main conspirator of the Godhra train carnage. The SIT had also dubbed him the main conspirator.

Maulvi Umarji was one of the key accused in the attack on the Sabarmati Express in February 2002 when 59 people died after a mob set a coach of the train on fire at the Godhra station near Ahmedabad. The compartment was packed with karsevaks returning from Ayodhya. A team appointed by the government to investigate said the Godhra tragedy was not a spontaneous riot, but a pre-planned conspiracy.
The SIT said Maulvi Umarji had ordered four of his lieutenants to lead a mob with more than a hundred litres of fuel to target the karsevaks.
Accusations of biased investigations prompted the Supreme Court to set up another committee to investigate the Godhra tragedy.
Headed by R.K. Raghavan, this special investigation committee also agreed with the earlier findings on Maulvi Umarji.

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