Another absconding key accused of Godhra train burning case nabbed after 14 years

Ahmedabad: The Crime Branch of Ahmedabad police has nabbed one of the main accused of the 2002 Godhra train burning incident after almost 14 years from Malegaon in neighboring Maharashtra.

This is fifth such arrest in last almost year in the case related to setting on fire coach S 6 of Sabarmati express on February 27, 2002 near Godhara railway station killing 59 people many of whom were karsevaks coming from Ayodhya.

A senior police official in the Crime Branch here today said that Imran Batuk alias Sheru, one of the main accused of the incident has been nabbed on a tip off from Malegaon where he was in to the business of illegal sand mining during his hiding. He has been brought here this morning.

Special Investigation Team which probed the case had named 94 persons in the chargesheet. In 2011, the SIT court acquitted rest of them and convicted 31 of whom 11 were sentenced to death, the others were given life imprisonment. Their appeal is still pending before the Gujarat High Court.

Earlier on May 18 this year the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) of Gujarat police had arrested Farooq Bhana, one of the masterminds of the Godhra incident, which had triggered communal riots in the state. Bhana, a former councilor of Godhra had moved to Mumbai to evade arrest and later became a property broker.

The ATS and LCB had last year arrested three such accused including Kasam Ibrahim Bhamedi who was among those who pelted stones and broke the window panes of the ill fated coach before it was set ablaze. He was caught on July 27 by the ATS team from Dahod railway station while he was alighting from a train coming from neighboring Madhya Pradesh after participating in a religious function. Two other accused, Kadir Abdul Gani and Hussain Suleman, were also arrested last year in this case.
On July 24, 2015 the local crime branch of Godhara arrested another key accused in the case, Hussain Suleman from Jhabua district of Madhya Pradesh. Hussain (35) worked as an auto-driver in Jhabua. On July 16, 2015 the local crime branch arrested another accused, Kadir Abdul Gani Paradiya from Godhra.

DeshGujarat