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Godhra erupts before anniversary 
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 2004 09:30:21 PM ]
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GODHRA: Five persons were injured in
violent clashes between the police and the Muslim community in the sensitive
Godhra
town on Wednesday.
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The mob attack on Sabarmati Express had sparked off
the infamous Gujarat riots.
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The injured included three policemen while
two civilians received bullet injuries.
Till late evening, intensive combing
operations were on which, police officials said, would continue till Friday
morning.
More reinforcements were being sought as
the police spread its dragnet and about 35 persons were rounded up. A Zee TV
camera crew was stoned as it tried to enter into the affected zone late in the
evening.
The clash took place when the
Special
Investigating Team
(SIT) probing the Sabarmati Express carnage of February
2002 moved into the Saatpul area at around 1.30 pm to nab some absconders.
Additional collector B N Damor, who was
camping at the spot, said "The trouble erupted because there was
resistance to arrests by the police".
The SIT had information about the presence
of a key suspect, Salim Paanwala, and several other accused in a place called Gyani
Plot.
Paanwala has been accused of instigating
the mob at the Godhra railway station and pulling the chain to stop the train. Fiftynine
people, including many
Ram
Sevaks
returning from Ayodhya, were killed when the coach was set ablaze,
sparking off communal riots all over Gujarat.
Acting on the tip-off, sub-inspector J S Yadav
went with team in a private Qualis to a mosque where
namaaz
was being
offered. Some of the policemen apparently joined in the
namaaz
and
waited for the prayers to get over before making their move.
"Paanwala was already marked but when
a team of about five policemen were about to capture him, the people retaliated
with stones allowing the suspect to escape in the melee," said a member of
the SIT.
When contacted, in-charge DGP A K Bhargav
told Times News Network, "The SIT was on the lookout for Paanwala and Faroukh
Bhana when the incident happened and the accused managed to flee".
Bhana, incidentally is an ex-corporator of
the Godhra municipality who has also been absconding since February 27. Bhargav
added that two companies of the SRP had been rushed in aid of the police, to Godhra.
He added that of the 50-odd persons
arrested for rioting, damage of public property and hampering investigations,
none were among the Godhra train carnage accused.
The policemen got entrapped in the mosque
with the mob and called in for reinforcements. Seeing the police vehicles
rushing in, the mob set about blocking the roads with burning tyres and pelted
stones at the police vehicles.
Sources said that eight persons, who were
wanted in the train carnage case, were present at the mosque.
Yadav was injured in the face while his
colleagues, Mahendra Sisodiya and Sahid Akbar Vora, suffered minor injuries. It
is alleged that after this attack, the police went on a rampage ransacking
houses, lobbing teargas shells and firing at the crowd.
Amin Hanif Gurji, one of the two persons
with bullet injuries, is said to be critical. Gurji (27), who has a bullet in
the leg, has been shifted to SSG hospital, Vadodara.
Officials feared that more people might be
injured in the incident, but were afraid of venturing out because of the
prevailing tension.
Interestingly, five days back, some
suspects of the train carnage brutally beat up a police informer, Iliyas Dadi.
Since then, there had been some tension in the area.
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