Ahmedabad: A Godhra train burning case convict was on Tuesday arrested after he jumped the bail and remained untraceable for over a month.
"Shaukat Badam alias Ghanchi (45), who was awarded life sentence by the court last year, was arrested from the state transport bus depot in the city," ACP Mayur Chavda said. Badam, lodged in Vadodara Central Jail, had been granted a temporary bail by the Gujarat High Court in December so that he could attend his daughter`s wedding. However, he did not return after the bail-period expired.
The ACP said that Badam hid in Godhra town and later in Ahmedabad with the help of some relatives. He would be now sent back to Vadodara jail.
Another Godhra convict, Bilal Abdullah Ismail, has been absconding after jumping the temporary bail, crime branch officials said. Bilal too has got a life sentence. The special court, on March 1 last year, awarded death sentence to 11 persons and life imprisonment to 20 others in the 2002 Godhra train burning case.
PTI