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Death penalty sought for 24 Hindu convicts over Gujarat riots massacre
[DAWN] Indian prosecutors sought the death penalty on Monday for 24 Hindus convicted over a massacre in Gujarat...where rioting seems to be a traditional passtime... during religious riots in 2002, when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was chief minister of the state. Judge P.B Desai heard submissions from the prosecution as well as lawyers representing the 24 convicted over the killings, before adjourning final sentencing until Thursday. The 24 were found guilty last week of playing a role in the massacre of 69 Moslems who were hacked and burnt to death as they sheltered at a residential complex in the city of Ahmedabad, in Gujarat state. Celebrations had erupted in the court room in Ahmedabad after the verdicts were read out, with victims and their families clapping and thanking the judge. "I am happy 24 accused were convicted but sad that 36 others have been acquitted. This is incomplete justice and I will fight till the end," Zakia Jafri, whose husband was killed in the massacre, had said. It was one of the single worst massacres of the week-long violence that left more than 1,000 people dead in total. Public prosecutor R.C Kodekar told the court on Monday some of the victims were women and kiddies. "The crime is rarest of the rare as the victims were hacked to death and then burnt by the accused," Kodekar told the court. "The victims were killed only because they belonged to the minority community. "The accused had targeted innocent people, so they must get the maximum punishment prescribed in law," Kodekar said. Posted by: Fred 2016-06-07 |
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