The Hindu : National : Two other trials in Gujarat riot cases stayed

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Sunday, Aug 08, 2004

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Two other trials in Gujarat riot cases stayed

By Our Legal Correspondent

NEW DELHI, AUG. 7. The Supreme Court on Friday stayed the trial in two other cases pertaining to the massacre of 110 people in Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya during the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat on a petition seeking transfer of these cases outside the State. A three-judge Bench, comprising Justice Ruma Pal, Justice S.B. Sinha and Justice S.H. Kapadia, issued notice to the Gujarat Government on the petition filed by a non-governmental organisation — Citizens for Justice and Peace.

The petitioner submitted that in these two riots over 2,000 people mostly belonging to the Muslim community were killed; they suffered 38,000 million rupees worth of losses. The attitude of police was to harass the people from the minority community and there was an air of distrust among them about the State police.

Gujarat was communally charged after the unrest that the State had seen. The hate campaign of fundamentalist organisations that were self-proclaimed representatives of the Hindu community against the Muslim organisations continued till date and it further complicated the whole situation in Gujarat. The petitioner alleged that the Gujarat Police was hand-in-glove with the accused and it was apparent in the manner in which the FIRs had been registered.

The Supreme Court had already transferred the Best Bakery case outside Gujarat for trial in Mumbai keeping in view the biased atmosphere prevailing in Gujarat against witnesses and all the persons were supporting the prosecution. Hence, the petitioner pleaded for transfer of these two cases also outside Gujarat and stay of the trial in the meanwhile.

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