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 | | From: | surreal_ravi | | Subject: | India train fire 'not mob attack' | | Date: | 17 Jan 2005 09:21:33 -0800 |
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 | India train fire 'not mob attack'
The fire at Godhra triggered days of rioting
An Indian train fire that killed 59 Hindus and provoked deadly
religious riots in 2002 was started by accident, a government inquiry
has said.
Evidence suggests the fire began inside the train, not that it was
fire-bombed, an investigating judge decided.
Most accounts from the time and since said a Muslim mob threw petrol
bombs at the train, starting the blaze.
The incident set off days of rioting in Gujarat state in which at least
1,000 people, most of them Muslims,died.
The possibility of an inflammable liquid having been used is completely
ruled out
Justice UC Banerjee
Since the train fire, state police have arrested more than 100 Muslims
in connection with the incident.
About 75 of them remain on remand awaiting trial. No one has been
convicted over the train fire.
Both Gujarat's inspector-general of police and India's main opposition
Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were swift to dismiss
the inquiry findings.
'Preponderance of evidence'
The Hindus aboard the train were returning from the holy town of
Ayodhya when they perished in the blaze at Godhra.
The incident triggered acts of revenge which swept the state for days.
Some estimates put the number of people killed in the slaughter at
2,000.
The riots caused divisions which have still to heal
Gujarat's state authorities say Muslims torched the train.
Survivor accounts speak of a stone-throwing mob attacking the train.
But doubts have persisted over how the fire started.
Retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who is leading the
government inquiry, dismissed suggestions that inflammable liquid could
have been thrown at the train from outside.
"There has been a preponderance of evidence that the fire in coach
number S6 originated in the coach itself without any external input,"
he said.
"The possibility of an inflammable liquid having been used is
completely ruled out as there was first a smell of burning, followed by
then smoke and flames thereafter."
Justice Banerjee said that according to eyewitness accounts people had
been cooking in the carriage at the time it caught fire.
He said the railway authorities had "pre-judged" the incident, and
criticised them for not conducting a thorough inquiry.
'Politically motivated'
Justice Banerjee's investigation was set up by the Congress party-led
government last summer after it won general elections in India.
There is one probe going on into the conspiracy angle and another
criminal trial is in process - was there any need for another probe?
Arun Jaitley
Bharatiya Janata Party
The BJP, which was in power nationally and in Gujarat at the time of
the riots, said the inquiry findings were "politically motivated".
Calling the report a disgrace, a spokesman said it was an unfortunate
attempt to trivialise what he called one of the worst crimes in India.
Gujarat's inspector-general of police, Rakesh Asthana, also challenged
the inquiry report.
He told the BBC the fire was an act of conspiracy and that at least 60
litres of petrol had been poured inside the compartment before burning
rags were thrown in from outside.
He said forensic scientists in Gujarat backed the police findings.
The BJP and its chief minister in Gujarat, Narendra Modi, were
criticised for not doing enough to restore order once the violence had
begun.
Police were alleged to have simply refused to intervene or, in many
cases, arrived too late to prevent attacks.
Only a handful of people have been found guilty in riot-related cases.
In 2003 the Supreme Court castigated the authorities for not delivering
justice to victims. It has since moved one of the highest-profile riot
court cases out of the state.
The riots were viewed by many as a serious challenge to India's record
in protecting its minorities and left many Muslims feeling deeply
insecure.
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| | From: | Torpedo | | Subject: | Re: India train fire 'not mob attack' | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 07:30:55 +1100 |
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| Any interim report on this?
http://www.ctlibrary.com/6524
Bangladesh: Bomb Kills Ten Christians
Todd Hertz
A bomb exploded during a Mass at the Jalilpar Catholic Missionary Church on
June 3, killing ten people and injuring more than two dozen others.
The bombing took place in the Gopalganj district, which has a sizeable-and
rare-Christian majority. About 87 percent of the country's 129.2 million
people are Muslims. Christians make up less than 1 percent of the
population.
"The Christian community is afraid of another attack anywhere in Bangladesh,
as. . all the citizens of Bangladesh are feeling insecurity and uncertainty
right now," Dennis D. Datta, general secretary of the National Christian
Fellowship of Bangladesh, told Christianity Today.
The region is no stranger to strife. Violence accompanied Muslim-dominated
Pakistan's separation from Hindu-dominated India in 1947. East Pakistan
rebelled against West Pakistan in 1971 and became Bangladesh. About 1
million people died and 10 million poured into India during this war for
independence.
Combined with a June 16 bombing of a political rally in Narayanganj, the
death toll from Bangladesh bombings in the last two years has reached more
than 80, according to VOA News.
Datta says the bombers want to grab the attention of Christians and Hindus,
who constitute 95 percent of the Gopalganj district's population.
"With one action, they alerted both communities that they exist and are
powerful," Datta said. "They chose the church for getting publicity locally
and internationally-and they got it."
The Tribune of Chandigarh reported on June 11 that Dhaka Metropolitan Police
(DMP) arrested a teacher for planning the attack. He is allegedly a member
of the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, an underground Islamic organization. Two
local Christian youth are also suspected of having aided in the church
blast.
The DMP believes the Muslim group is striking at the Awami League
government, the current ruling coalition. According to The Times of India,
Gopalganj is the home district of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina. Her father
founded the Awami League.
The league, which played a pivotal role in the founding of Bangladesh, is
moderately socialist and secularist and leans toward India. Opposing parties
such as the Bangladesh National Party seek an Islamic state and lean closer
to Pakistan, and the more radical opponents are getting impatient.
Authorities can connect five recent Bangladesh bomb blasts and 44 deaths to
the Harkat-ul-Jihad-al-Islami, The Tribune says.
A Bangladesh field chairman for a Western missions agency told Christianity
Today that he agrees religion is probably not the main issue. While there
are underlying tensions between religions in Bangladesh, adherents usually
coexist, he says, unless there is a catalyst.
"More than likely, this is someone trying to cause trouble for someone
else," he says. "Everything in Bangladesh is personal and rarely
ideological. It is less about religious differences than political
alliances."
The government is not specifically anti-Christian, the missionary said. In
fact, it has given signs of wanting religious freedom in Bangladesh. In
fact, if a minimum of 60 students in a particular school are of any
religion, the school can petition for that religion to be taught. While most
schools teach Islam, he said, other religions have the legal right to teach
theirs. Some schools have taught their non-Muslim religions without
problems.
However, progress toward religious freedom does not mean all citizens of
Bangladesh agree.
Datta says that four major radical Islamic groups are active in the area,
and that Christians fear for their own safety. In the Patuakhali district in
southern Bangladesh, Islamic radicals have threatened 50 Protestant families
with eviction from their homes.
A contributing factor to the area's problems, he said, is the presence of
vulnerable youths, who are easy prey for radical groups looking to recruit.
"We have 30 million unemployed youth in Bangladesh," Datta said. "Some of
them go abroad in the Middle East and get connected with Islamic
fundamentalists who believe in terrorism and violence. When they return
home, they are supported financially to do various terrorist activities."
Though afraid, Christians have spoken out in response to the Gopalganj
attack.
"In the capital city and countryside, [Christians] have protested the
heinous acts through organizing processions, rallies, human chains, public
meetings, and prayers throughout Bangladesh," Datta said.
The Independent reported that the Bangladesh Christian Association protested
the violence of June 3 with prayers and processions. The group also issued a
nine-point resolution demanding a judicial probe.
According to the paper, church leaders have demanded special security for
Bangladesh's Christian community. Meanwhile, hundreds of Christians and
Muslims responded with a June 7 march through the capital.
Copyright © 2001 Christianity Today. Click for reprint information.
"surreal_ravi" wrote in message
news:1105982493.409920.216610@z14g2000cwz.googlegroups.com...
> India train fire 'not mob attack'
>
> The fire at Godhra triggered days of rioting
>
> An Indian train fire that killed 59 Hindus and provoked deadly
> religious riots in 2002 was started by accident, a government inquiry
> has said.
>
> Evidence suggests the fire began inside the train, not that it was
> fire-bombed, an investigating judge decided.
>
> Most accounts from the time and since said a Muslim mob threw petrol
> bombs at the train, starting the blaze.
>
> The incident set off days of rioting in Gujarat state in which at least
> 1,000 people, most of them Muslims,died.
>
> The possibility of an inflammable liquid having been used is completely
> ruled out
>
> Justice UC Banerjee
>
> Since the train fire, state police have arrested more than 100 Muslims
> in connection with the incident.
>
> About 75 of them remain on remand awaiting trial. No one has been
> convicted over the train fire.
>
> Both Gujarat's inspector-general of police and India's main opposition
> Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were swift to dismiss
> the inquiry findings.
>
> 'Preponderance of evidence'
>
> The Hindus aboard the train were returning from the holy town of
> Ayodhya when they perished in the blaze at Godhra.
>
> The incident triggered acts of revenge which swept the state for days.
> Some estimates put the number of people killed in the slaughter at
> 2,000.
>
>
> The riots caused divisions which have still to heal
>
> Gujarat's state authorities say Muslims torched the train.
>
> Survivor accounts speak of a stone-throwing mob attacking the train.
> But doubts have persisted over how the fire started.
>
> Retired Supreme Court judge Umesh Chandra Banerjee, who is leading the
> government inquiry, dismissed suggestions that inflammable liquid could
> have been thrown at the train from outside.
>
> "There has been a preponderance of evidence that the fire in coach
> number S6 originated in the coach itself without any external input,"
> he said.
>
> "The possibility of an inflammable liquid having been used is
> completely ruled out as there was first a smell of burning, followed by
> then smoke and flames thereafter."
>
> Justice Banerjee said that according to eyewitness accounts people had
> been cooking in the carriage at the time it caught fire.
>
> He said the railway authorities had "pre-judged" the incident, and
> criticised them for not conducting a thorough inquiry.
>
> 'Politically motivated'
>
> Justice Banerjee's investigation was set up by the Congress party-led
> government last summer after it won general elections in India.
>
> There is one probe going on into the conspiracy angle and another
> criminal trial is in process - was there any need for another probe?
>
> Arun Jaitley
> Bharatiya Janata Party
>
> The BJP, which was in power nationally and in Gujarat at the time of
> the riots, said the inquiry findings were "politically motivated".
>
> Calling the report a disgrace, a spokesman said it was an unfortunate
> attempt to trivialise what he called one of the worst crimes in India.
>
> Gujarat's inspector-general of police, Rakesh Asthana, also challenged
> the inquiry report.
>
> He told the BBC the fire was an act of conspiracy and that at least 60
> litres of petrol had been poured inside the compartment before burning
> rags were thrown in from outside.
>
> He said forensic scientists in Gujarat backed the police findings.
>
> The BJP and its chief minister in Gujarat, Narendra Modi, were
> criticised for not doing enough to restore order once the violence had
> begun.
>
> Police were alleged to have simply refused to intervene or, in many
> cases, arrived too late to prevent attacks.
>
> Only a handful of people have been found guilty in riot-related cases.
>
> In 2003 the Supreme Court castigated the authorities for not delivering
> justice to victims. It has since moved one of the highest-profile riot
> court cases out of the state.
>
> The riots were viewed by many as a serious challenge to India's record
> in protecting its minorities and left many Muslims feeling deeply
> insecure.
>
|
|
| | From: | habshi | | Subject: | Re: India train fire 'not mob attack' | | Date: | Tue, 18 Jan 2005 21:48:40 GMT |
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| This may well be the kiss of death from Lalu .
Even the Yadavs are not going to forgive him trying to gloss over the
death of so many Hindu women and children at the hand of the Jihadis
dailypioneer.com
Did Lalu's man consider the evidence?
Pioneer News Service/ New Delhi
Jaitley punches holes in Godhra report, asks---The BJP on Monday
hammered on glaring loopholes in the Justice UC Banerjee Committee
report on the February 2002 Godhra train fire that killed 59
passengers and raised serious questions relating to appointment,
juridiction, functioning and reccommendations of the committee.
Accusing the Banerjee Committee of "repeating the accident theory" of
Railway Minister Lalu Prasad by "glossing over evidence supporting
conspiracy hatched at a guest house in Godhra" for setting afire the
train, BJP general secretary Arun Jaitley released a set of 10
questions which raised serious doubts about the "accident" theory.
Observing that the BJP did not expect a retired judge to function
independently, Mr Jaitley and the BJP's parliamentary party spokesman
VK Malhotra said it was strange that the judge did not consult with
the investigating authorities before giving his stamp to the interim
report that said the fire on S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was
accidental.
Mr Jaitley said the BJP did not attach much importance to this report
because it would "at best have some propoganda value" in the coming
elections in Bihar. It would be of "no consequence" otherwise as it
"did not have legal basis or statutory status," he observed.
Meanwhile, former Railway Minister and senior Janata Dal (U) leader
Nitish Kumar shot off a letter to the Election Commission from Patna
seeking to prohibit the use of the committee's report on the Godhra
train blaze in any form in the February Assembly polls.
He termed the committee's report as "politically motivated and aimed
at giving advantage to Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav in the Assembly
elections."
The BJP pointed out that Justice Banerjee was not the choice of the
Supreme Court but of the Railway Minister. The party also found it
fishy that the interim report was given ahead of the Assembly
elections in three states although the committee's tenure was upto
March three this year. The party has also taken exception to Justice
Banerjee addressing the media when the normal practice was that the
Government releases a report after it is submitted.
Questions have also been raised about the Railway Minister getting an
advance copy of the interim report because Mr Lalu Prasad had
"translated and circulated" the summary of the report in Hindi from
his Patna residence.
"Do you expect anyone to believe your statement that you were unaware
of the fact that elections to some state Assemblies are being held,"
the BJP asked.
Confronting Justice Banerjee with first of his ten questions, Mr
Jaitley wanted to know if he had considered the evidence that two
meetings took place at Aman guest house at Godhra where the
"conspiracy was hatched to set the bogie afire."
Mr Jaitley also asked if Justice Banerjee had considered the evidence
of purchase of 140 litres of petrol which was stored in the same guest
house where the conspiracy was hatched.
"Did you consider the evidence that one of the conspirators Salim
Badam was verifying the movement of the Sabarmati Express at 1.30 am
on February 27, 2002 from Godhra railway station and since the train
was running four hours late the conspirators reassembled at the Aman
guest house," Mr Jaitley asked.
In another poser, Mr Jaitley asked Mr Banerjee if he considered the
evidence that chain pulling was simaltaneously executed from various
compartments to stop the Sabaramti Express so that the mob at the
platform could indulge in stone-throwing.
"Did you consider the evidence of workers who have deposed about the
transportation of petrol from the Aman guest house to the station?" Mr
Jaitley asked.
Mr Jaitley asked if Justice Banerjee considered that the conspirators
entered bogey no S-7 and cut open the vestibule cord between bogey no
S-6 and S-7 and then the entired quantity of petrol was poured in
bogey no S-6.
"Did you consider the facts that burning rags were thrown inside?" Mr
Jaitley asked.
Attacking his report as politiically-motivated, Mr Jaitley asked if
Justice Banerjee realised that the accident theory was first
propounded by the accused in the case and then repeated by Railway
Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav while announcing the appointment of the
committee. "You may have merely stamped the Lalu theory. If there was
a minor fire under the seat due to an accident why did the passengers
not get out of the bogey and save their lives?" he asked.
Mr Jaitley wanted to know if Justice Banerjee realised that a
committee appointed by the Railways cannot go into the issue of
'conspiracy' angle as law and order was a state subject. Also,
prevention and detention of crime was a constitutional responsibility
of the state Government.
The BJP asked Justice Banerjee whether he "knew" that the interim
report amounted to "extra-constitutional interference" in the
administration of justice since the trial is pending before the
appropriate court.
"Do you know that the function of the committee and its
recommendations will eventually act as the defence of the culprits,"
it further queried.
The rest of the questions that followed were: "Why did you accept to
head a departmental inquiry of the Railways on a matter where a
criminal trial and a commission of inquiry are pending?"
"Why was the Chief Justice of India not consulted to suggest the name
of a retired judge? You were the choice of the Railway Minister?"
"Why did you give an interim report during the election period even
though your term is extended till March 3, 2005?"
"Why did you address a Press conference to release your report
particularly when a judge only submits his report and it is upto the
Government to release it at an appropriate time?"
"How did Lalu Prasad get an advance copy of your report since a
translated copy of the summary of your report in Hindi was releasd by
him simultaneously from his residence in Patna?"
"Do you expect anyone to believe (as you told a TV channel) that you
are unaware of the fact that elections to some state Assemblies are
being currently held?"
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