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Godhra Verdict: Prosecution seeks death penalty; sentencing March 1
Friday February 25, 2011 09:42:04 PM,
IANS
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Ahmedabad: All the 31
men convicted of setting a train coach on fire near Godhra in
Gujarat, killing 59 people in 2002, will be sentenced by a court
here March 1.
The prosecution Friday sought the death penalty for all the 31,
terming it a "rarest of rare case", while the defence has appealed
that the convicts be spared the noose and sentenced to life in
prison.
The appeals were made to Additional Sessions Judge P.R. Patel in
his court within the high-security Sabarmati prison here.
The judge had Tuesday held the 31 guilty of conspiring and setting
fire to S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near the Godhra railway
station Feb 27, 2002. The incident triggered a communal frenzy
with mass rioting in Gujarat killing over 1,000 people.
The court acquitted 63 others, including alleged mastermind Maulvi
Saeed Umarji.
Prosecution counsel J.M. Panchal confirmed that they have asked
for capital punishment but declined to reveal the submissions made
before the court. He said the case was of murder and criminal
conspiracy, and deserved the death penalty.
Lawyer I.M. Munshi told reporters that the defence has asked for
leniency, saying the incident was a reaction to the "misbehaviour"
of 'kar sevaks' (Hindu volunteers) in the train and cannot be
termed a "rarest of rare" case.
The lawyers also argued the convicts should not be sent to the
gallows considering their past, their family circumstances and the
fact that they had spent nine years in jail during the trial.
Meanwhile, lawyer of Ibrahim Abdul Razak Abdul Sattar Samol alias
Bhano, one of the 31 convicted in the case, moved an application
before the court saying he was a minor at the time of the incident
and his case should have been referred to the juvenile justice
board.
The lawyer said that Bhano was arrested Sep 1, 2004 and the police
record showed his age as 20 years old at the time. But the lawyer
claimed that Bhano was a minor and the court should consider his
case afresh.
The 31 men were held guilty of murder, attempt to murder, dacoity,
robbery and arson.
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