Mumbai (AsiaNews) - A "very bitter" verdict for the survivors after "a full investigation that was suspect beyond all reasonable doubt", says Fr. Cedric Prakash SJ, Director of the Jesuit Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace Ahmedhabad Prashant. He is critical of the sentence handed down today by an Indian court, which exonerates Narendra Modi, chief minister of Gujarat, of all charges of involvement in the massacres of 2002. The court acquitted 58 other co-accused.
In particular, the priest denounces procedural errors committed by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed
by the Supreme Court. "The
way the investigation was carried out - said Fr. Prakash, a native of Gujarat - says a lot about the verdict. Witnesses never
heard and telephone calls not recorded in the minutes is sufficient reason to
believe that the entire investigation is suspect. But all
is not lost yet. The struggle for justice and truth will continue until the
end. "
On
27 February 2002 a
group of Muslims attacked and set fire to the Sabarmati Express, aboard which
were Hindus - mostly women, children and elderly - returning from a pilgrimage
to Ayodhya. The
attack, which killed 58 people, sparked violent inter-confessional riots in Gujarat. Among
these, there is also the slaughter at Gulbarg
Society, an Islamic residential complex in Ahmedhabad. On
28 February, a crowd set fire to houses, killing 68 Muslims. Among
these, even the politician Ehsan Jafri, a leading figure at the time of the
Congress Party.
Jafri's widow has always accused Modi and his Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP, the Hindu ultra-nationalist party in
government) of conspiring in the riots, for failing to control the situation
and has tried not to ascertain the truth.
In
the massacre, the Muslim community of Gujarat paid
the highest price: of the more than 1,000 confirmed deaths, 790 were Muslims
and 254 Hindus. At
least 253 people were declared missing, 523 places of worship, including three
churches, were damaged, 27,901 Hindus and 7,651 Muslims were arrested.