AHMEDABAD: A city sessions court has acquitted ex-BJP MLA Jitu Vaghela and former councillor Devji Kataria in a 2002 riots case, after asking how police arrested only two persons out of a 2,000-strong mob, and that too when cops reached the spot while the rioting was going on.Vaghela and Kataria were arrested for rioting and arson and were also booked under the Arms Act for torching houses of Muslims on March 22, 2002, in Gomtipur area of Ahmedabad. They were later put on trial. Vaghela defended himself by claiming that a local Congress leader, Iqbal Shaikh, had been arrested in a case of rioting and therefore to build a balance, police arrested them as Hindu leaders. While acquitting the duo earlier this month by extending benefit of doubt for want of inadequate evidence, additional sessions judge V J Kalotara said that the police chargesheet showed in its Column No. 2 a mob of 2,000 Hindus whose names and addresses were not known. The court observed, “There was a mob of around 2,000 persons in this incident, but only two persons were arrested later. This raises doubt, because it is clearly established that police had reached the spot in time.”The court further said that there were police points set up in all four directions during the post-Godhra riots. Curfew was imposed and police bandobast was very heavy.“But not a single accused person was arrested and nobody’s name was revealed later. This is not believable,” the court commented and pointed out that there were only 15 witnesses and panch witnesses shown in this case, despite the fact that there were so many police personnel and local people available for testimonies. “This brings the prosecution’s case under the shadow of doubt,” the court added.The court noted that the rioting mob had torched properties belonging to Muslims. But a witness, Mohyuddin Pathan alias Safed Sher, whose house was burnt down, turned hostile. Other independent witnesses were found improvising during deposition and the court found their testimonies contradictory. The panch witnesses too turned hostile. In 2014, Vaghela were acquitted in another rioting case along with 43 others.

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