Gulberg Society Case: 11 awarded life imprisonment...

New Delhi: Declaring the Gulberg Society massacre as the 'darkest phase of the civil society', the special court of special investigation team, on Friday, awarded life imprisonment to 11 convicts.

Twelve other convicts were given seven years imprisonment and one was awarded with the jail-term of 10 years.

Gulberg was one of the Muslim localities in Ahmedabad affected by the post-Godhra riots where 69 people including former Congress MP Ahsan Jafri were killed on February 28, 2002.

What the court said:

• While pronouncing the quantum of sentence the court said that the sentence should run concurrently and not consecutively
• The court said that the power of remission of the sentence lies in the hands of legislation. It, however, advised the government not to remit the sentence.

The case has seen several ups and downs during the trial.

• The judgement about the massacre came on June 2 last in which 24 accused were convicted by special court while 36 others were acquitted for lack of evidence.

• P B Desai, who pronounced the verdict, on June 2 last, was the fourth judge who presided over the trial.
• The previous judges had concluded the hearing, but couldn’t pronounce the judgment due to Supreme Court’s stay and their retirement.
• The current judge took over the trial in November 2014 and concluded the final arguments in September 2015.

To read about Gulberg Society massacre, click: Special Court convicts 24, acquits 36 in Gulberg Massacare

About the Gulberg massacre:

• A mob of nearly 20,000 people had attacked the Gulberg society on February 28, 2002.
• The mob attacked the society a day after the attack on Sabarmati Express train at Godhra left 69 people dead.

  Society’s boundary walls were the houses were torched.

• Former Congress Member of Parliament, Ehsan Jafri, had been dragged out, hacked and burnt to death along with 68 others.
• The phone calls made to police during the attack went unanswered.
• Charred remains of 39 victims only were recovered by the police, while, the rest were presumed dead.-

To read the story in Hindi, click: गुलबर्ग सोसायटी केस: 24 में से 11 दोषियों को सुनाई गई उम्रकैद की सजा