AHMEDABAD, India (AFP) - Survivors of one of the worst massacres during the 2002 sectarian riots in Gujarat filed a compensation claim against the western Indian state's ruling Hindu nationalist BJP party.
Over 120 people from the minority Muslim community were burnt or hacked to death by Hindu mobs in February 2002 in two separate residential colonies.
A former member of parliament, Ehsan Jaffri, from the opposition Congress Party, was among those killed in the riots.
"Today, I have filed a civil suit for compensation along with 24 other families of the Gulbarg Society who lost all in a single day of communal hatred," said his son Tanvir Jaffri.
He said the victims were seeking total damages of seven million rupees (162,800 dollars) from the BJP state government as well as Hindu right wing groups.
Representatives of the families whose kin were killed said the process of filing the compensation claim was delayed because of red tape.
The Gujarati government was accused of turning a blind eye to the riots in which about 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, died.
The riots were triggered after claims that a Muslim mob torched a train carrying Hindus at Godhra, killing 59 people. A subsequent official report said the train fire was an accident.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20050614/wl_sthasia_afp/indiagujaratunrest_050614045545
Copyright © 2005 Agence France Presse.
2 comments:
Mr sohail while I fully denounce such acts against the minorty. And before i say anything i like to mention that i am politically neutral.
Now i like to add to your blog that yes there are certain indications that government in office during the riots may not have taken corrective steps.
But no subsequent official report said the train fire was an accident.
if you are indicating towards the report of railway ministry it is only an interim report and has yet to prove its prima facie... and it too not said fire was due to accident.. it is only telling the about how fire spread but is silent on how fire was initiated. I hope you can understand.
Plewse reply here only.
I agree with you entirely on the findings of the report. I'm not suggesting that the train fire was not the byproduct from persons with ill-tennt.
This just happened to be the latest development in the Gujrat riots, which is an interest to me, so I decided to post it. I am not sitting here inclined towards either side...
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