Ahmedabad, July 01: A special Pota court today discharged an accused in Godhra train carnage, Sayeed Abdul Sattar Kala, due to lack of evidence. Judge Sonia Gokani discharged Kala after the special investigating team probing the carnage submitted it had found no evidence to prove the accused's connection with the train carnage.
Kala, who was alleged to be a member of the core group instrumental in burning the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station, was also directed to furnish a personal bond of Rs 30,000 and surety of the same amount.
He was charged with accumulating funds from Pakistan through Hawala channels and being constantly in touch with the prime conspirator Maulana Hussain Umarji. The print out of his mobile phone suggested his underworld links.
However, no evidence to prove these charges was found during investigations.
41-year-old Kala was arrested from Mumbai on April 9 last and was remanded to police custody from April 17 to April 24. Later he was sent to judicial custody.
Fifty-nine Ram sevaks, mostly women and children, were charred to death when a mob torched the S-6 bogey of the Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station on February 27 last year, sparking widespread communal riots in the state.
Bureau Report