Gulbarg Society Massacre: 11 Convicts Awarded Life Imprisonment

Of the 24 convicts, 11 sentenced to life imprisonment, 12 to seven years in jail, and one gets a decade in jail.

Convicts in the Gulbarg massacre case being taken away in a police van in Ahmadabad, on Thursday, 9 June 2016. (Photo: AP)

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• Of the 24 convicts in the case, 11 get life imprisonment, 12 sentenced to seven years’ jail time, and one has been sent to jail for 10 years.
  
• No death sentence was awarded to any of the convicts.
  
• Slain Congressman Ehsan Jafri’s wife Zakia Jafri will seek life imprisonment for all the convicts.
  
• Kin of convicts will also appeal against the sentencing in a higher court.
  
• The quantum of punishment was pronounced today after being deferred twice in the past.
  
• Of the 66 accused, 24 were convicted, 36 were acquitted while 6 died before the verdict.
  

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 1:04 PM

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 4:29 PM

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 4:29 PM

Investigator Had Asked for Capital Punishment

RK Raghavan, former CBI Director and chairman of the SIT, constituted by the Supreme Court to probe cases related to the 2002 Gujarat riots, including the Gulbarg massacre, had asked for death sentence for the convicts. He said “I’m reasonably satisfied, even though we asked for death sentence and that wasn’t given.”

While speaking to CNN News18, Raghavan added,

We will read the judgement and, if need be, we will appeal in higher court. It was a case of epic proportions and I sympathise with Zakia Jafri. There is bound to be disgruntlement. There are mixed feelings on the judgement. On the one hand, 11 have been given life term, but victims want harsher punishment.

The ancestral home of Zakia Jafri, at the Gulbarg Society. (Photo: Reuters)

After the verdict in the case was announced on 2 June, Raghavan had expressed disappointment towards it. Read his comments on the special court’s verdict on The Quint.

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 2:57 PM

Former ADG of Gujarat Police Blames Raghavan

RB Sreekumar, former senior Gujarat police officer, was disappointed by the verdict.

Look, 69 people lost their lives and just 11 have been given life imprisonment. This is wrong.

Sreekumar was the Additional Director General of Police in Gujarat when the incident took place. He has alleged that the Raghavan-led SIT functioned as a “special immunisation team” to give then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi a clean chit.

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 2:57 PM

“Case Not Over For Me,” Says Zakia Jafri

Zakia Jafri, the widow of Congressman Ehsan Jafri, has expressed her disappointment with the sentence.

The case has not ended for me. I will pursue the case against the 36 acquits and the 13 convicts who were not imprisoned for life. I’ll have to consult my lawyers again now. This is injustice. I was there since morning. A person who did so much for the people, was cut and burnt on the streets. I cannot agree with this. I demand life imprisonment for every convict because everyone was present that day. 

Zakia Jafri, wife of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, showing her husband’s photo while reacting to the Gulbarg Society verdict, in Surat, 2 June 2016. (Photo: PTI/Altered by The Quint)

Jafri’s son Tanvi Jafri, has said that while there was a sense of closure, they will challenge the number of acquittals in the High Court.

Convicts’ Kins to Move Higher Court

The families of the convicts have decided to appeal against the special court’s decision.

Kins of the convicts will appeal in a higher court. (Photo: ANI/The Quint)

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 1:55 PM

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Unnecessary Leniency

Activist Teesta Setalvad said that the court showed unnecessary leniency.

We welcome the judgement but we are disappointed in the lesser sentence. We will appeal against the lesser sentence for those who have not been awarded life imprisonment. We are not for revenge verdict but reformative justice. On compensation, we do not know what judge said. 

Of the 24 convicts, 11 were accused of murder and have been awarded life imprisonment and remaining 12 will be jailed for seven years.

None of the 24 convicts in the Gulbarg massacre case were given the death sentence.

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 1:10 PM

The convicts in the case have arrived at the Ahmedabad special court. The court may pronounce the quantum of their punishment for the death of 59 people, and several others charges.

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 10:39 AM

The quantum of punishment for the 24 convicts in the Gulbarg Society massacre case will be pronounced today by a special court in Ahmedabad. The sentencing has already been deferred twice.

The trial court had found 24 people guilty in the case involving the brutal massacre of 69 people on 28 February 2002, including former Congressman and Parliamentarian Ehsan Jafri.

Thirty-six of the 66 accused were acquitted while 24 were convicted.

The defence lawyer has appealed for a second chance for the convicts on the grounds of an otherwise clean criminal record.

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 11:35 AM

Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 9:55 AM

Nishrin Jafri Hussain with her father Ehsan Jafri at Nalsarovar, Gujrat in 1995. (Photo Courtesy: Facebook Page of Nishrin Jafri Hussain)

Also Read:
Bless Us, Abba: 2002 Gulbarg Victim Ehsan Jafri’s Daughter Writes
Gulbarg Case | Dissatisfied With So Many Acquittals: RK Raghavan
Godhra-Gulbarg Gambit: Pawns Face Trial While Knights Roam Free

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Updated at:17th Jun, 2016 at 10:30 AM