TheJournal.ie uses cookies. By continuing to browse this site you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Click here to find out more »
Dublin: 13 °C Friday 24 May, 2013

Death sentences nine years after India train arson attack

Sixty people died when a packed train carriage was set alight in February 2002, sparking religious riots which killed another 1,000.

A policeman walks past the burnt Subarmati Express train in February 2002.
A policeman walks past the burnt Subarmati Express train in February 2002.
Image: AP Photo/Siddharth Darshan Kumar

A COURT IN INDIA HAS SENTENCED 11 men to death for an arson attack which killed dozens of people on a train nine years ago.

The train attack sparked some of the worst religious riots India had ever seen.

Last week, 31 Muslims were convicted of the February 2002 attack in which 60 Hindus pilgrims were killed.

The trial took some nine years to come to a resolution, during which five of the accused died.

Sixty-three people were acquitted of involvement in the attack. The other 20 people who were convicted were sentenced to life imprisonment.

About 1,000 people are believed to have died when Hindus rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in Gujarat between February and April 2002 in retaliation for the train deaths. It was the country’s worst religious violence since gaining independence from Britain in 1947.

Reporting from the Associated Press.

Read next:

Add New Comment