On April 24 this year, the Gujarat High Court said that it was right to dismiss 9 police officers for not doing their duty properly during the 2002 Godhra train attack. The attack happened on February 27, 2002, when a Muslim mob set fire to the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station in Gujarat. In this horrific incident, 58 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive, including 27 women and 10 children.
The court said that the tragedy might have been avoided if these police officers had done their job properly and not been careless. The judges pointed out that if the officers had boarded the Sabarmati Express to go to Ahmedabad as they were supposed to, they could have helped prevent the attack.
The court clearly said that these officers showed serious negligence and carelessness, and the charges against them were proven. The police officers who were dismissed include Gulabsinh Devusinh Jhala, Khumansinh Jitsinh Rathod, Nathabhai Dhulabhai Bhabhi, Vinodbhai Bijalbhai, Jabir Hussain Rasul Miya Sheikh, Rasikbhai Rajabhai Parmar, Kishorbhai Devabhai Parmar, Kishorbhai Balubhai Patni, and Punabhai Motibhai Bariya.
The Gujarat High Court said that all 9 officers were part of the Railway Police Force (RPF) and were supposed to travel on the Sabarmati Express from Dahod to Ahmedabad on the day of the Godhra attack. But they didn’t do that. Instead, they made false entries in the duty register and returned by another train, the Shanti Express.
The court said that their removal from service in 2005 was the right decision. It also said that if these officers had been on the Sabarmati Express as they should have been, they might have helped stop or reduce the damage of the tragic incident on February 27, 2002.
The 9 police officers were earlier accused of leaving their assigned duty, making false entries in the duty register, and not travelling on the train they were supposed to escort. The Gujarat High Court said that these officers were given an important responsibility, but they carelessly chose not to travel on the Sabarmati Express as they were supposed to. Instead, they took another train, the Shanti Express.
Muslims Responsible For Burning The Sabarmati Express Near Godhra Railway Station
A total of 31 people from the Muslim community were found guilty of setting the Sabarmati Express on fire, which led to the death of 59 Hindu pilgrims—many of them women and children.
On March 1, 2011, a special fast-track court gave the death penalty to 11 of them. Their names include Abdul Razzak Kurkur, Ismail Suleja, Jabbir Binyamin Behra, Ramzani Binyamin Behra, Mehboob Hassan, Siraj Bala, Irfan Kalandar, Irfan Patadia, Hassan Lalu, Mehboob Chanda, and Salim Zarda.
However, in October 2017, their death sentences were reduced to life imprisonment. The remaining 20 people were also given life sentences. Their names include Suleman Ahmad Hussain, Abdul Rehman Abdul Majid Dhantiya, Kasim Abdul Sattar, Irfan Siraj Pado Ghanchi, and others.
All the people found guilty in this case were from the Muslim community. This fact highlights the truth of the case and counters those who try to downplay or misrepresent the tragic and planned killing of the Hindu pilgrims in the Godhra train attack.
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