Hindu defendants handed life sentences over killings of 33 Muslims during 2002 sectarian riots.
Narendra Modi has denied allegations by rights groups that he tacitly supported the rioters [Reuters]
A court in India has sentenced 31 people to life in prison over the killings of 33 Muslims in a single house during severe sectarian riots in the state of Gujarat in 2002.
The 31 defendants, all Hindus, were found guilty of murder, attempted murder, arson, rioting and criminal conspiracy after the victims were burned alive in the building.
"Out of the 73 accused, 31 are guilty and 42 are acquitted of all charges," judge SC Srivastava told the special court near Sardarpura village, where the 33 Muslims sought shelter in a small house on the night of February 28, 2002.
The victims had crowded into the house to escape the rioters, who set the building alight. Authorities uncovered 28 bodies at the scene, with five others dying later of their injuries.
During the violence in the western state of Gujarat, witnesses said baying Hindu mobs surrounded and raped Muslim women, then poured kerosene down their throats and on their children and threw lit matches at them.
Wednesday's verdicts followed earlier convictions over riot-related violence.
In some of India's worst inter-faith clashes since independence in 1947, about 2,000 people died in a wave of anti-Muslim unrest triggered by a train fire in which 60 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive.
The case is one of nine trials being held in India in connection with the violence following the train fire, and is one of the first in which convictions have been secured.
The Hindu pilgrims on the train were returning from the town of Ayodhya, another flashpoint for religious unrest after a mosque was destroyed in 1992 by Hindus, leading to separate riots that killed thousands of people, mostly Muslims.
Dispute over responsibility
Wednesday's verdicts, which come after years of accusations that authorities dragged their heels in prosecuting Hindus, split activists campaigning for justice.
"This is the first time in 60 years that so many people have been convicted in a case of communal violence," Teesta Setelvad, secretary of the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) group, told the NDTV news channel.
Narendra Modi has denied allegations by rights groups that he tacitly supported the rioters [Reuters]A court in India has sentenced 31 people to life in prison over the killings of 33 Muslims in a single house during severe sectarian riots in the state of Gujarat in 2002.
The 31 defendants, all Hindus, were found guilty of murder, attempted murder, arson, rioting and criminal conspiracy after the victims were burned alive in the building.
"Out of the 73 accused, 31 are guilty and 42 are acquitted of all charges," judge SC Srivastava told the special court near Sardarpura village, where the 33 Muslims sought shelter in a small house on the night of February 28, 2002.
The victims had crowded into the house to escape the rioters, who set the building alight. Authorities uncovered 28 bodies at the scene, with five others dying later of their injuries.
During the violence in the western state of Gujarat, witnesses said baying Hindu mobs surrounded and raped Muslim women, then poured kerosene down their throats and on their children and threw lit matches at them.
Wednesday's verdicts followed earlier convictions over riot-related violence.
In some of India's worst inter-faith clashes since independence in 1947, about 2,000 people died in a wave of anti-Muslim unrest triggered by a train fire in which 60 Hindu pilgrims were burnt alive.
The case is one of nine trials being held in India in connection with the violence following the train fire, and is one of the first in which convictions have been secured.
The Hindu pilgrims on the train were returning from the town of Ayodhya, another flashpoint for religious unrest after a mosque was destroyed in 1992 by Hindus, leading to separate riots that killed thousands of people, mostly Muslims.
Dispute over responsibility
Wednesday's verdicts, which come after years of accusations that authorities dragged their heels in prosecuting Hindus, split activists campaigning for justice.
"This is the first time in 60 years that so many people have been convicted in a case of communal violence," Teesta Setelvad, secretary of the Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) group, told the NDTV news channel.
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