8 get life terms for burning alive family in Gujarat violence

Godhra, Gujarat, Oct 30 (UNI) A local court today sentenced eight people to life imprisonment and three others to three-year jail terms for burning alive seven members of a family during the post Godhra violence.

The sessions court held the eleven people guilty of killing the victims by setting them ablaze at Erol in Panchmahals district on March 2, 2002, in the violence that followed the Godhra train carnage.

The court, however, acquitted 29 other accused.

According to the prosecution, the convicts had burnt alive the seven members of a family including two teenaged girls who were raped before being killed.

Erol in Panchmahals district was one of the worst-affected places during the 2002 Gujarat violence.

The three persons, who have been handed down three-year terms, have already served their sentence and are likely to be released soon. The 40 accused in the case have been in jail since 2002.

UNI