AHMEDABAD: A sessions court in Ahmedabad recently acquitted four men accused of rioting and arson in the city’s Naroda area during communal violence that followed Babri Masjid demolition in 1992-93. “No evidence, including CCTV footage or any eyewitness who could link the accused to this offence, has been produced before this court,” additional sessions judge VB Rajput said.
Police had filed two FIRs on Jan 10, 1993, leading to the arrest of 13 people from a mob that looted and torched shops belonging to members of the minority community near Naroda Kabrastan. The violence was believed to be in retaliation for murder of a shopkeeper in the area. Of those arrested, Kaushik Patel, Samir Patel, Chandrakant Valand and Bhagwan Patel, stood trial. During the trial, only a handful of witnesses appeared.The injured man turned hostile, while police witness was unable to recognise the accused.