Ahmedabad:
Among the 63 people acquitted in the Godhra verdict today is Maulvi Umarji.
He was one of the key accused in the attack on the Sabarmati Express in February 2002 when 59 people died after a mob set a coach of the train on fire at the Godhra station near Ahmedabad. The compartment was packed with
kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya.
A team appointed by the government to investigate the riots said the Godhra tragedy was not a spontaneous riot, but a pre-planned conspiracy.
The Special Investigation Team said that a cleric named Maulvi Umarji had ordered four of his lieutenants to lead a mob with more than a hundred litres of fuel to target the
kar sewaks.
Accusations of biased investigations prompted the Supreme Court to set up another committee to investigate the Godhra tragedy.
Headed by RK Raghavan, this Special Investigation Committee also agreed with the earlier findings on Maulvi Umarji.
However, the court today said that there is no evidence to prove this.