Gulbarg riots case: Gujarat HC rejects Zakia Jafri's Plea, gives clean chit to PM Modi

Ahmedabad, October 5: The Gujarat High Court has dismissed Zakia Jafri’s allegation that the former Gujarat CM Modi was involved in Gulbarg riots in 2002. The court upheld the closure report submitted by the SIT that gave clean chit to PM Modi.

Zakia, the wife of slain former MP Ehsan Jafri moved the criminal review petition against the lower court order and sought the high court's direction for fresh investigation into the matter.

Jafri, a Congress leader, was among 68 people who were killed at the Gulberg Society riot in 2002 in Ahmedabad.

The SIT's closure report, filed on February 8, 2012, gave a clean chit to Modi and others. In December 2013, the metropolitan magistrate's court rejected Jafri's petition against the report, after which she had moved the high court in 2014.

The Gulbarg Society case is the eighth of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots probed by the Supreme Court appointed SIT. On February 28, 2002, during the 2002 Gujarat riots, the Gulbarg society was attacked by a 20,000-strong mob, which breached the boundary wall and started torching houses. Most of the houses were burnt.

By evening, 69 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri were charred to death. Hearing the mob, many of the residents took refuge in the home of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, but Jafri was unable to protect him and other residents of the society. Jafri was hacked to death and later burnt.

The mob had attacked Gulbarg a day after coaches of the Sabarmati Express train were burnt at Godhra station leaving 59 people dead. The Gulbarg Society was a cluster of 29 bungalows and 10 apartment buildings in Chamanpura locality of Ahmedabad. The society was housing upper middle class families, mostly belonging to the minority community.

The incident had taken place a day after S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was burnt near Godhra train station, where in 58 'karsevaks' were killed.