A Gujarat court on Thursday sentenced 18 persons to life imprisonment and five others to seven years in jail for burning alive 23 people at Ode village during the post-Godhra riots, holding that the offence did not fall in the “rarest of rare” category.
The accused, who were convicted on Monday, a decade after the incident, escaped the noose as district and sessions judge Poonam Singh held that since none of them had criminal antecedents they did not merit the ultimate penalty.
The court also imposed a fine of `5,800 on each of those sentenced to life imprisonment and `3,800 on those handed down jail term of seven years.
In its order, the court upheld the charge of criminal conspiracy to kill the victims belonging to the Muslim community and cause damage to their property.
The court’s observation was based on the fact that the mob had gathered with arms and sharp weapons on a Friday when most minority community members were at home.
It observed that the intention of the mob was clear as it did not disperse in spite of being baton-charged by the police which also burst teargas shells.
The court said the involvement of those convicted in setting afire the house had been corroborated by the statements of the witnesses who had also identified them.
Tumultuous scenes were witnessed after pronouncement of the verdict with several family members of the convicts breaking down inside the court campus.
While many shouted slogans against chief minister Narendra Modi, one of them identified as Ravji Patel allegedly tried to commit suicide by consuming poison but was prevented by those accompanying him after the police had evicted them from the court premises. Ravji’s son Vijay and his four other relatives were among those convicted.
Another woman Shantaben Patel also threatened to commit suicide in the court premises if justice was not done.
The protesters, including women and children, later sat on the road leading to the court.