NEW DELHI – All 26 men accused of gang rape and gruesome killing of more than a dozen Muslims in separate incidents during the 2002 Gujarat riots were acquitted by an Indian court.
Indian media reported that a court in the western Indian state of Gujarat has given a clean chit to 26 accused of gang rape and the murder of Muslims in the 20-year-old case.
Additional sessions judge announced the verdict on Friday as the trial continued for two decades and over a dozen out of 39 accused in the case passed away during the proceedings.
The court verdict raised several questions as the accused was involved in brutal riots that occurred in March 2002. The prosecution examined nearly 200 witnesses and over 300 documentaries as evidence in support of its argument.
A case was lodged against the accused 20 years back as over 2,000 people clashed with deadly weapons; the mob also torched shops and raped women.
For the unversed, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the then chief minister of Gujarat when the riots occurred. In recent developments, a documentary by BBC on the Indian premier’s actions during sectarian riots sparked new debate, as the BJP government continued Hindu-centric policies, targeting Muslims as part of a rightwing religious nationalist agenda.
The documentary of Britain’s state broadcaster revealed how Muslim community was blamed and it set off a wave of bloody retaliatory violence, with Hindu mobs targeting the homes of Muslims.
