Post Godhra riots case: All 6 accused in killing of 3 British nationals acquitted

Ahemdabad, Feb 27: A special trial court in north Gujarat on Friday acquitted the six people accused of killing four persons, including three British nationals at Prantij town in Himmatnagar district, during the 2002 Gujrat riots.

This was one of the nine Gujarat riot cases which was investigated by the Supreme Cout-appointed SIT.

The Supreme Court-appointed special investigation team had charged six persons with the killing of four persons including three Indian-origin Britons. On February 28, 2002, a day after Godhra train burning incident, Imran Dawood and his UK-based uncles Saeed Dawood, Shakeel Dawood and Mohammad Aswat were attacked by a mob at Prantij in Sabarkantha district of Gujarat.

Saeed, Shakeel, Mohammad Aswat and their car driver Yusuf Piraghar, a local, were burnt alive by the mob on the national highway 8, while Imran managed to save himself with the help of police.

Mithanbhai Patel, Chandu alias Prahlad Patel, Ramesh Patel, Manoj Patel, Rajesh Patel and Kalabhai Patel, all residents of Prantij, are the accused.

The Supreme Court started monitoring the progress of nine cases from post-Godhra riots period -- Prantij, Gulberg Society, Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gaam, Ode village (two cases), Dipda Darwaja, Sardarpura and Godhra -- after the National Human Rights Commission and various NGOs termed the investigation as shoddy and unreliable.

OneIndia News

(With agency inputs)