AHMEDABAD: In a significant development, a witness has told the special court hearing Sardarpura riot case of Mehsana district that BJP leaders had
visited the village much before the Godhra carnage took place on February 27, 2002, indicating a build-up to the massacre.
Thirty-three persons belonging to minority community were killed and 20 sustained serious injuries in the tiny village of Sardarpura on March 1, 2002 in the aftermath of Godhra carnage. Police arrested 76 persons in this regard.
Sabirmiya Akumiya, a witness in the Sardarpura massacre, deposed before the special judge SC Srivastava on Friday during the examination-in-chief, said the special public prosecutor in the case Suresh Shah.
Sabirmiya, who used to work in the Sardarpura's waterworks at the time of incident, was present at the spot when the mob started gathering, but when killing began he fled to save his life. Sabirmiya had identified 17 persons from the mob before the court earlier. When asked about the riots, he told the court that the then BJP MLA from Godhra Haresh Bhatt had addressed a gathering in Sardarpura in February 2002, just 15 days before the Godhra carnage.
Sabirmiya has specifically told the court, and earlier made a statement before the special investigation team (SIT), that MLA Bhatt had distributed tridents to the villagers who participated in his programme. The revelation has once again raised doubts on the entire 2002 episode.
Seven years after the incident, the trial began in this case against 73 accused persons in a special court upon Supreme Court's insistence. One accused is dead while another, being a juvenile at the time of offence, has been referred to the juvenile court. SIT had filed a discharge application for one accused under Section 169 of the CrPC, but the special court did not accept it. His revision application was rejected by the district court and by the Gujarat High Court earlier this week. Now, the trial against this accused will begin soon, advocate Shah said.
Till date, the special court has examined 46 witnesses, out of whom few panch witnesses have turned hostile. They refused to testify their earlier statements regarding the weapons used during the massacre.
