A Gujarat court has acquitted 27 accused of gangrape and murder of over 10 people in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.
The case: The prosecution had said that the accused were a part of a mob that went haywire after the Sabarmati train burning incident in Godhra. Even though a total of 39 people were accused, 12 had died during the course of trial and only 27 remained.
The charges: In the FIR that was filed following the incident, the accused were booked for rioting, unlawful assembly, rioting with armed weapons, murder, and causing the disappearance of evidence, among other sections of the Indian Penal Code.
The Reasons for acquittal: Additional sessions judge LG Chudasma, while delivering the verdict said:
- The case is based on "mere suspicion without any evidence on record" (according to The Indian Express)
- the 190 witnesses examined in the case had either “turned hostile” or “not supported the prosecution’s case” or were “unable to recall facts or identify the accused”