Godhra train case convict sentenced to death, jumps parole

Vadodara, Nov 20: The central jail authorities here today sounded an alert after Salim Jarda, one of the accused in Godhra train burning case who was awarded death penalty, jumped the parole. "Salim Yusuf Zarda, who was sentenced to death in Godhra train carnage case, had jumped his 15-day parole which ended on Tuesday.

We have sent a written communication to Godhra Deputy Superintendent of Police, asking him to arrest Zarda," a jail official said here. "Zarda was given parole by the Gujarat High Court on November 3 to attend to some house renovation work. He was supposed to report back yesterday," the official said.

Zarda is one of the 31 convicts in the case related to the deaths of 59 people after two coaches of Sabarmati Express were set on fire at Godhra station on February 27, 2002. Zarda along with ten others were given death penalty by the special trial court in March 2011. Their appeals are pending before the High Court.

Earlier on Tuesday Justice Nanavati Commission submitted its final report on the 2002 Gujarat riots to state Chief Minister Anandiben Patel. "We have submitted the report, which runs into more than 2,000 pages," Justice Nanavati told PTI, but refused to divulge any contents of the report.

The commission members, Retd Supreme Court Justice G T Nanavati and Retd High Court Justice Akshay Mehta drove to the residence of Patel and submitted the report to her, officials at the Chief Minister's Office said.

The final report of the commission on the 2002 riots, in which more than 1,000 people, mostly of minority community were killed, comes after extensive investigation, which ran over a period of more than 12 years.

PTI