The acquittal of all living 67 accused by a Special Court in Ahmedabad has clearly shown that the riot victims of the Naroda Gam massacre have been served injustice in place of justice. As the case stands now, the prosecution has miserably failed in producing evidence against the accused persons, while the judiciary failed in delivering justice to the victims, and both signify a miscarriage of the entire Criminal Justice System since a victim has a right to have justice. The questions remain – if these accused persons are not the culprits as they have been acquitted reportedly either due to lack of evidence or given the benefit of the doubt, who were the real culprits in the mob that attacked the Muslim Mohalla Kumbhar Vas in Naroda Gamin Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002, and put houses on fire in which 11 Muslims were burnt to death? Should this case be pursued to its logical conclusion by providing justice to the victims or should we let it go with the acquittal of the accused persons if there is no evidence against them? Should we take a critical view of the poor quality of the investigation that has been a suspect on account of the questionable role of the ruling establishment and the police officials on the spot?
One can also not forget that during the 2002 post-Godhra riot, Narendra Modi-led BJP was ruling Gujarat, who is now Prime Minister of India. Gujarat is still ruled by BJP. Does the sloganeering in similar terms during riots and just after the pronouncement of the verdict have any connection with each other? It’s a matter of further investigation. An FIR was registered at Naroda Police Station in Ahmedabad after the incident. It should also be noted that soon after the incident, the Justice Nanavati committee was constituted to enquire into the case, which had concluded in its report that the police did not help the Muslims in the Naroda Gam area and that the leaders like Maya Kodnani (BJP’s ex-MLA and former Minister), Jaydeep Patel (former Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader), and ex-Bajrang Dal member Babu Bajrangi, etc., instigated the miscreants. It also highlighted the fact that the police were not present in adequate numbers and also were not properly equipped to control the situation on the ground. The Police, however, have maintained that it was busy controlling other, more violent riots in nearby Naroda Patiya.
Initially, there were a total of 86 accused in this case, out of which 18 died during the trial, leaving behind only 68. One of the accused was discharged, and hence the remaining 67 accused faced charges and were ultimately acquitted, 67 being present in the court during the pronouncement of the judgment. A judge’s functions are too narrow which leaves many questions unanswered since their focus remains only on the examination of the evidence produced before it. Technically, the judgments may be flawless, but still, there are social concerns since society is interested in justice in the true sense of the term because it cannot afford to allow lawlessness. Victims must get justice, and the guilty punished. Rioters and their supporters must not be welcomed to the further humiliation of the victims by the slogans like “Jai Sri Ram” or “Bharat Mata Ki Jai” or else Hindus are reducing themselves to bigots.
