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Gujarat riots toll to go up from 952 to 1,180
AHMEDABAD: The official death toll in the post-Godhra Gujarat riots will rise to four figures on February 28 - from 952 to 1,180 - when the
stipulated seven years since the disappearance of 228 people will end, after which the missing persons will be declared dead.
The communal conflagration in the state had led to the disappearance of a total of 413 people. Of these, 185 people were found, leaving 228 still untraced. Administrative procedures are now on to correct the official toll by listing those 228 missing persons as dead.
The missing include Azhar Mody, son of Rupa and Dara Mody, whose story inspired the 2007 Bollywood film, 'Parzania'.
"The question of government presuming a missing person dead arises when rights are attached to the dead. Relatives of the missing people will have to inform a competent government authority like the revenue department about their status. But the real issue, because these people went missing in rioting, is that they are presumed murdered. The bigger question is not of compensation but of investigation into these murders," said Gujarat high court lawyer Mukul Sinha.
Rupa and Dara Mody continue to wait for Azhar to this day, although a witness has claimed before the SC-appointed special investigation team that he had seen Azhar's body after the Gulbarg Society massacre. "We are not buying that version because the witness's description of the boy's clothes does not match with that of his mother, who would certainly have a more vivid memory of her lost son," said a senior SIT officer.
Of the 413 people reported missing in Gujarat, around 200 were from Ahmedabad alone. Among the 185 people found was Muzaffar Sheikh, raised by a Hindu mother, Veena Patni. SIT helped reunite him with his parents last year.
Additional commissioner of police Ashish Bhatia confirmed that the toll of Gujarat riot victims is set to rise. "In the Naroda Patia case, we confirmed 95 persons dead, against the earlier official toll of 83. In Naroda Gaam, we have confirmed three more dead, which takes the toll in that area to 11."
Citizens for Justice and Peace had submitted a list of missing persons to the Supreme Court to support their claim that 71 of them had died in Gulbarg Society, and not 39 as officially stated. Congress ex-MP Ahsan Jafri, whose body was never found, is listed as dead.
"Banks will now be able to release money from the accounts to their (missing people's) legal heirs," said Teesta Setalvad of CJP.
AHMEDABAD: The official death toll in the post-Godhra Gujarat riots will rise to four figures on February 28 - from 952 to 1,180 - when the
stipulated seven years since the disappearance of 228 people will end, after which the missing persons will be declared dead.
The communal conflagration in the state had led to the disappearance of a total of 413 people. Of these, 185 people were found, leaving 228 still untraced. Administrative procedures are now on to correct the official toll by listing those 228 missing persons as dead.
The missing include Azhar Mody, son of Rupa and Dara Mody, whose story inspired the 2007 Bollywood film, 'Parzania'.
"The question of government presuming a missing person dead arises when rights are attached to the dead. Relatives of the missing people will have to inform a competent government authority like the revenue department about their status. But the real issue, because these people went missing in rioting, is that they are presumed murdered. The bigger question is not of compensation but of investigation into these murders," said Gujarat high court lawyer Mukul Sinha.
Rupa and Dara Mody continue to wait for Azhar to this day, although a witness has claimed before the SC-appointed special investigation team that he had seen Azhar's body after the Gulbarg Society massacre. "We are not buying that version because the witness's description of the boy's clothes does not match with that of his mother, who would certainly have a more vivid memory of her lost son," said a senior SIT officer.
Of the 413 people reported missing in Gujarat, around 200 were from Ahmedabad alone. Among the 185 people found was Muzaffar Sheikh, raised by a Hindu mother, Veena Patni. SIT helped reunite him with his parents last year.
Additional commissioner of police Ashish Bhatia confirmed that the toll of Gujarat riot victims is set to rise. "In the Naroda Patia case, we confirmed 95 persons dead, against the earlier official toll of 83. In Naroda Gaam, we have confirmed three more dead, which takes the toll in that area to 11."
Citizens for Justice and Peace had submitted a list of missing persons to the Supreme Court to support their claim that 71 of them had died in Gulbarg Society, and not 39 as officially stated. Congress ex-MP Ahsan Jafri, whose body was never found, is listed as dead.
"Banks will now be able to release money from the accounts to their (missing people's) legal heirs," said Teesta Setalvad of CJP.
