Godhra : The Verdict analysed

A judgement has branded the Muslims of Godhra "Hindu killers" by tradition. The 27 February 2002 train fire, it declares, was a conspiracy to kill "karsevaks". Ignoring the plain record that the source of the fire was inside the train even before it suddenly stopped after leaving Godhra Station, the judgement holds that the train was stalled by the Muslims to break into a coach brimming with belligerent karsevaks, pour petrol, and start a fire, and to do so all unnoticed. The half-truths of forensics and the machinations of the police have succeeded in the trial, and 31 men, unfairly made to bear the burden of proof and denied vital witnesses, have been sentenced either to death or life imprisonment.

Nitya Ramakrishnan in EPW. Read the pdf version of the whole article Here