Unidentified convicted Indian men look out from a police vehicle after a verdict in the 2002 Gujarat riot massacre in Ahmedabad on June 2, 2016. A special Indian court convicted two dozen Hindus on June 2 over a massacre during religious riots 14 years ago when prime minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of Gujarat state. Sam Panthaky/AFP
Unidentified convicted Indian men look out from a police vehicle after a verdict in the 2002 Gujarat riot massacre in Ahmedabad on June 2, 2016. A special Indian court convicted two dozen Hindus on JuShow more

11 found guilty of Gujarat murders in anti-Muslim riots of 2002



NEW DELHI // A special court in India on Thursday convicted 24 Hindu men of involvement in a series of anti-Muslim riots that killed 1,000 people in Ahmedabad 14 years ago.

Eleven were found guilty of murder at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad, while the others were convicted of serious charges including arson and looting. They will be sentenced on Monday.

Thirty-six people – including Bipin Patel, a local official and member of India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – were acquitted for lack of evidence. The widow of a victim said she would appeal against the acquittals.

The riots took place over several weeks in 2002 after a railway carriage full of Hindus was torched in the town of Godhra, killing 59 people.

The next day, a crowd of about 20,000 gathered outside Gulberg Society, an Ahmedabad housing complex of 29 bungalows and 10 apartments.

Sixty-nine residents lost their lives in Gulberg Society, many of them burnt to death. Among them was Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress Party member of parliament, who was hacked with swords and machetes then set on fire.

It was the second largest number of Muslim killings in a single incident, after another riot in Naroda Patiya, a suburb of Ahmedabad in which 97 Muslims died.

Hindus also rampaged through other towns in Gujarat leaving at least 1,000 dead in all, most of them Muslims.

The mob appeared to be well-organised. Witnesses told investigators that the attackers went through the housing complex in a methodical fashion, using lists of voters’ names and addresses to identify poperties occupied by Muslims.

Many among the attackers are believed to have been members of right-wing groups such as Rashtriya Swayamsevak (RSS) and Vishwa Hindu Perishad (VHP), which both have ideological links to the BJP.

Local VHP leader Atul Vaidya was among those who were pronounced guilty on Thursday, although he escaped a conviction for murder.

The Gujarat government was accused of failing to act against the mob and abetting it.

The widow of Jafri, Zakia, has claimed that her husband called police and government officials repeatedly for protection while the mob gathered, but that no help arrived.

The chief minister of Gujarat at the time was Narendra Modi, now India’s prime minister, who has also been accused of doing too little to halt the massacre.

But in Thursday’s verdict, judge PB Desai ruled there had been no conspiracy in the attack on Gulberg Society.

On Thursday, Ms Jafri said she was disappointed with the verdict of the special court.

“I will appeal against the verdict,” she said. “It is sad that 36 people have been let off.”

In 2008, the supreme court ordered the formation of an investigation team to probe the Gulberg Society massacre as well as several others. Based on the findings of that investigating team, a judge convicted 32 people of murder and criminal conspiracy.

They included Babu Bajrangi, a VHP leader, and Maya Kodnani, a former minister in Mr Modi’s cabinet in Gujarat, who was described as “the kingpin of the violence”.

The judge, however, ruled out any complicity by Mr Modi in the murder of Ehsan Jafri.

R K Raghavan, a former director of the Central Bureau of Intelligence and the head of the investigation team that probed the Gulberg Society massacre, said that his report had pressed for a charge of criminal conspiracy.

“But the court decided otherwise,” he said. “There is a kind of mixed feeling over the conviction. I am slightly disappointed over acquittals. That’s part of the game ... I’ll take it in my stride.”

Teesta Setalvad, an activist who has helped compile witness accounts and filed legal briefs on behalf of victims in the Gulberg Society case, pointed out that it was odd for one court to find evidence of criminal conspiracy in Naroda Patiya but another to find no such evidence in Gulberg Society, which is only a couple of kilometres away.

“We believe there was enough evidence that was laid down,” she said. “The eye witness accounts and the documentary evidence suggest wider conspiracy.”

Yesterday’s verdict can still be appealed in the Gujarat high court and then the supreme court.

Ms Setalvad said, “We are not about to give up the struggle right now.”

A separate case, filed by Ms Jafri, is attempting to link nearly 300 incidents of murder during the riots and accuses Mr Modi’s administration of criminal culpability in the violence.

This case is mired in the pre-prosecution stage in the Gujarat high court, since judges have not as yet issued a full list of charges against those accused of crimes.

ssubramanian@thenational.ae

Water waste

In the UAE’s arid climate, small shrubs, bushes and flower beds usually require about six litres of water per square metre, daily. That increases to 12 litres per square metre a day for small trees, and 300 litres for palm trees.

Horticulturists suggest the best time for watering is before 8am or after 6pm, when water won't be dried up by the sun.

A global report published by the Water Resources Institute in August, ranked the UAE 10th out of 164 nations where water supplies are most stretched.

The Emirates is the world’s third largest per capita water consumer after the US and Canada.

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5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed

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At a glance

Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.

 

Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year

 

Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month

 

Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30 

 

Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse

 

Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth

 

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Three ways to limit your social media use

Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.

1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.

2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information. 

3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.

How much sugar is in chocolate Easter eggs?
  • The 169g Crunchie egg has 15.9g of sugar per 25g serving, working out at around 107g of sugar per egg
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Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE

Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:

• Buy second hand stuff

 They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.

• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres

 Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.

• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.

Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.

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Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.

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Scotland/Israel/Norway/Serbia

Group E: Spain, Poland, Sweden, 
N.Ireland/Bosnia/Slovakia/Ireland

Group F: Germany, France, Portugal, 
Iceland/Romania/Bulgaria/Hungary

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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets