Godhra: One of most wanted accused in year 2002 Godhra train burning case Yakud Pataliya has been nabbed by police from Vachla Odha in Godhra. Yakub was out of bound for police for last 16 years. Yakub Pataliya is brother of another accused Kadir Pataliya who was nabbed in 2015. Another brother Aiyub Pataliya was also earlier arrested in same case. 59 Hindus were burnt to ashes in Signal Faliya area of Godhra in February 2002 by mobs of local Muslims in Godhra, the incident which triggered statewide riots in Gujarat.

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Godhra: An accused of notorious Godhra train burning incident in which 59 Kar sewaks were brutally burnt to death and which had triggered the 2002 Gujarat riots, was nabbed by police here today after over 15 years of his being ‘on-the-run’.

62 year old Yakub A Pataliya, a resident of Signal Faliya area in this headquarter town of Panchmahals district in Gujarat where on February 27, 2002, coach S-6 of Sabarmati express was burnt by a mob of local Muslims. 59 Kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya by the train were burnt to death.

PI of B-division police station here K P Gohil said that on a tip off about Yakub’s presence in the town, the patrolling team nabbed him from Vachala Odha locality. The railway police had registered a case against him in September 2002 under various sections of the IPC iand Railways act including section 307 ie attempt to murder. He was on the run since then. Two of his brothers were also accused in the case one of whom Kadir Patalia who was arrested in 2015 had died in jail during trial while another brother Ayub, one of the 31 convicts, was serving life imprisonment in the central jail of Vadodara.

He said that Yakub has been handed over to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) which was investigating the case. The special SIT court had in March 2011 convicted 31 accused (11 sentenced to death, 20 for lifer) and acquitted 63 others. Gujarat High Court had in October 2017 commuted the death sentences to lifer.