AHMEDABAD: Narrating the ghastly tale of 2002 riots for the first time, a witness to the Naroda Patia massacre told the special court on Thursday how two sisters — Geeta and Ramila Rathod — killed her daughters by burning them after wrapping them in a mattress es with help of other accused persons.
Geeta and Ramila's father Ratilal alias Jai Bhavani and their brother Mukesh are also accused of the mayhem that took place in Naroda Patia on February 28, 2002 killing 95 persons. Jai Bhavani died during pendency of the trial, while his daughters and son are being tried in the case.
Rafiqanbanu Rahimbhai Saiyed (45) lost two daughters — Ruksana and Afsana — and a son, Shamshad, in the violence. She also sustained injuries, but survived. During her deposition, she broke down on several occasions while narrating how she lost her kids. She got agitated when the defence lawyers tried to grill her, particularly in regards with the role of social activist Teesta Setalvad.
The witness narrated before the court how Guddu Chhara and Tinio Marathi came to her house to give her a false assurance about her family's safety in the locality. She also described the attack and how they were denied entry to SRP quarters campus. We were told by SRP personnel that there were orders to kill us, Saiyed told the court.
The woman stated in her examination- in-chief about how Jai Bhavani and others posed themselves as protectors, but later directed the victims to khado' for safety, the place where 58 persons lost their lives. She also narrated how Jai Bhavani made her minor son Shamshad drink petrol and later threw him into fire after removing the little boy's pants.
Interestingly, the defence lawyers kept questioning the witness more about Setalvad's efforts to provide legal aid to the victims. They inquired repeatedly on why the witnesses did not inform a local court before approaching the Supreme Court (SC) at the behest of social activists. The defence lawyers tried to grill the witness on discrepancy in her narration in the affidavit filed before the SC and her deposition before the special court. This irked the witness who reacted with anger and refused to listen to anything against Setalvad.
The witness got so angry that the court had to request the lawyer, who was cross-examining her, to keep distance from her. Meanwhile, the witness identified all the accused she named in her statement, except Shehzad alias Suresh Chhara.
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