[Reader-list] Great justice to Indian Muslims

[Javed]

Wow, this is great justice to Indian Muslims. First give their
university a Minority status to make them happy, then give death
sentence to 11 accused Muslims in Godhra train burning, while the real
culprits who played the game of death and destruction in Gujarat in
2002 are walking free...

Congrats to all Muslims on their "minority status".

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Eleven get death penalty for Godhra train carnage
HT Correspondent , Hindustan Times
Ahmedabad, March 01, 2011

Eleven people were sentenced to death and 20 to life imprisonment for
the February 27, 2002 Godhra train carnage by a special trial court in
Ahmedabad on Tuesday. Fifty-nine kar sevaks were burnt alive in the S6
coach of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station, sparking
the worst communal riots in Gujarat that left more than 1,200 people
dead — most of them Muslims — in three weeks.

Terming the case “rarest of rare”, the trial court said all the active
conspirators deserved the death penalty while their associates were
spared the gallows and given life terms. It also said it wasn’t an act
of “terror” but rather, a planned “conspiracy” to target the kar
sevaks in the train.

"The court, looking into their active role in the conspiracy and in
setting fire to the S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra,
gave the death penalty to 11 people,” special public prosecutor JM
Panchal said after the sentencing.

Panchal said the prosecution had sought death for all 31 people held
guilty by the court on February 22. The court had acquitted 63 accused
out of a total of 94 for want of evidence, including Maulavi Hussain
Umarji, the alleged mastermind.

The court has given the convicts three months to challenge its verdict
in a higher court. IM Munshi, counsel for the accused, said: "We will
definitely appeal against the verdict in the high court." He added:
"Till the high court confirms the judgment, it cannot be implemented."

Asked if the prosecution would appeal against the life terms for the
20 convicts, Panchal said a decision would be taken by the special
investigation team that probed the case after studying the judgment.

The Godhra trial started in June 2009 and was completed in September
2010. During its course, 253 witnesses were examined by the court.
Initially, there were 134 accused, out of which 14 were released due
to lack of evidence, five were juvenile, five died during the
proceedings of over nine years and 16 are absconding. The trial was
conducted against 94 accused.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Eleven-get-death-penalty-for-Godhra-train-carnage/Article1-668031.aspx