Ahmedabad, 30 July 2012

Sixsty-one people including then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Prahladbhai Mohanlal Patel (Gosa) and former BJP Councillor BT Patel have been acquitted in the Dipda Darwaja massacre case in which 11 members of a family were killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots.

All the 83 people accused in the Dipda Darwaja massacre case have been acquitted of the charges of murder. Out of the 22 convicted, 21 have been convicted for attempt to murder and one for dereliction of duty.

A mob had killed 11 members of a single family, including two children and a 65-year-old woman, on February 28, 2002 at Dipda Darwaja area of Visnagar town in Mehsana district. Initially, charges had been framed against 83 accused, including three women, but later the court allowed the application of complainant Mohammad Iqbal Baloch, listing BJP MLA Prahladbhai Mohanlal Patel (Gosa) and former Police Inspector of Visnagar town MK Patel, as additional accused in the case, taking the total number to 85.

However, one of the accused, against whom, charges were framed, was found to be minor at the time of the crime, following which, the court ordered his trial by a juvenile court, while one of the accused died during the course of trial.

A total of 127 people including eight eyewitnesses examined during trial.

“All the 83 accused of the Dipda Darwaja case have been charged under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempted murder), 323 (Punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 324 (Voluntarily causing hurt by dangerous weapons or means), 325 (causing grievous hurt with deadly weapons), 367 (kidnapping in order to cause grievous hurt) of Indian Penal Code among other sections,” special prosecutor Mukesh K Brahmabhatt said.

Dipda Darwaja is one of the nine cases, including the Godhra train burning case that was probed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) on orders of the Supreme Court.

Update

The court has given life term to 21, while then Police Inspector has been given one-year-prison.

The people of Visnagar will observe bandh on Tuesday protesting conviction of 22 accused – all Patels.