In Gujarat’s Panchmahal district, a court has acquitted all 26 individuals accused of gang rape and the murder of over a dozen Muslims during separate incidents in Kalol amid the 2002 Gujarat riots.
The acquittal comes as a result of insufficient evidence in the 20-year-old case. The trial took place in the court of additional sessions judge Leelabhai Chudasama.
Originally, the case involved 39 accused individuals. However, 23 died while the case was pending, leading to suspending their trials. The prosecution presented 190 witnesses and 334 documentary pieces of evidence to the court. Despite this effort, the court found contradictions in the witnesses’ testimonies, which weakened the case.
An FIR (First Information Report) was registered on March 2, 2002, following violent incidents in the Kalol district of Gandhinagar on March 1, 2002. Approximately 2,000 people reportedly clashed with sharp weapons and flammable objects, damaging shops and setting them ablaze.
During the violence, several tragic incidents unfolded. A man injured in police firing was being rushed to the hospital but was intercepted by the mob and burned alive. Another man was attacked and killed while leaving a mosque, and his body was then burned inside the holy building.
In a separate incident, 38 people attempting to flee Delol village and head to Kalol were attacked, with 11 burned alive. According to the FIR, a woman was gang-raped as she and others tried to escape the violence.
The 2002 Gujarat riots resulted in the deaths of over 1,000 people, most of whom were Muslims. At the time of the riots, current Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi served as the chief minister of the western state of Gujarat.
