Mehasana (Gujarat), November 9
Thirty-one persons were sentenced for life today after they were held guilty of burning alive 33 persons belonging to a minority community in one of the ghastly crimes unleashed during 2002 post-Godhra riots in Sardarpura.

In a rare case where so many people were punished with life term after being convicted for communal riots, a special court also acquitted 42 persons — 11 among them were freed due to lack of evidence, while 31 others were given the benefit of doubt. In all, 73 persons were made accused in the case.

Principal District and Sessions Judge SC Srivastva, while pronouncing the verdict, also directed the 31 convicts to deposit Rs 50,000 each, which would be paid as compensation to the families of the victims.

The convicts were also awarded jail terms ranging from three months to 10 years under various Sections of the IPC. All sentences would run concurrently.

An additional fine of over Rs 20,000 each has also been imposed on all convicts and if they failed to deposit the same, their punishment would be extended by up to six months.

“This is a historic success. Never before in the history of trial of communal riots cases in the country, these many people have been sentenced,” former state DGP RB Sreekumar, who is fighting for riot victims, said after the verdict.

“It is a very satisfying verdict, I am happy with it, it is the result of hard work put in by my officers, I don’t know if it is the biggest-ever conviction in a riots case, but 31 persons convicted for life imprisonment in a riot case is a sizable number,” SIT chairman RK Raghavan said.