Officials in Gujarat fear spike in communal violence after 31 Muslims convicted of 2002 incident in which 60 Hindus died
Indian authorities have imposed tight security measures across much of the western state of Gujarat following the conviction of 31 Muslim men for setting fire to a train in which 60 Hindu pilgrims and activists died nine years ago.
The incident, which took place in the town of Godhra in February 2002, triggered some of the worst communal violence in India for decades. More than 1,200 people, mainly from the minority Muslim community, were killed as groups of Hindus rioted in Muslim neighbourhoods and towns in the state.
Security officials in Gujarat fear a repeat of the violence following the long-awaited verdict.
Public gatherings of more than four people in areas seen as prone to violence have been banned, local media asked not to broadcast images of the clashes that followed the attack on the train, and around 15,000 extra police have been deployed.
The families of the more than 60 people acquitted of participating in the attack by the court have been given special police protection.
Those convicted are to be sentenced later in the week. Many have been in jail since being arrested in the aftermath of the violence.
Special public prosecutor JM Panchal said he was satisfied with the court's decision. "This is a judicial pronouncement and it cannot be a subject of debate," Panchal told reporters.
The case has become highly politicised, reflecting some of the deep divides in India.
The chief minister of Gujarat, Narendra Modi, is a rising star in the rightwing Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party (BJP) and has been repeatedly accused of failing to stop the violence sparked by the attack on the train.
Modi has always denied all the charges against him. They have however tarnished his image and that of the state, one of the most successful in economic terms in the country.
A spokesman for the Gujarat state government, Jaynarayan Vyas, said the verdict had exposed the "motivated campaign to malign the Narendra Modi government".
A BJP spokesman said that "law and justice has prevailed."
"There were elements who were trying to belittle it. There have been politicians who tried to abuse it," Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters.
An investigation by a judge six years ago had said the incident was an accident. However a different inquiry found that the attack had been pre-planned and that the train, having been doused in petrol, was deliberately set on fire by a mob.
Commentators in local media say that communal strife following the verdict is unlikely. Last year, calm followed a controversial court decision over the disputed religious site of Ayodhya in northern India which granted many of the demands of Hindu religious organisations, leading many to conclude that the days when sectarian issues could explode into street violence in India are now over.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/godhra-train-fire-verdict
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