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The party also said it will continue to pursue this case and reaffirmed its support for the victims of these heinous crimes and the families that survive them.
The Ahmedabad-based court of S K Baxi, special judge for Special Investigation Team (SIT) cases, acquitted all the 67 accused, including former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and ex-Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, in one of the worst massacres witnessed during the state-wide riots triggered by the Sabarmati train carnage on February 27, 2002, after a trial spanning 13 years and half a dozen judges. The Naroda Gam case was probed by a Supreme Court-appointed SIT.
”While we will await the detailed judgment to offer a comprehensive statement, it is clear that there has been a categorical lapse on the part of the prosecution in the performance of its role. The only way the prosecution and the prosecuting state can prove this to be false is if they pursue the appeals process with seriousness and expediency,” Congress general secretary, communications, Jairam Ramesh said in a statement.
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While a lawyer of the victims’ families said the judgement will be challenged before the Gujarat High Court because ”justice was denied” to them, the accused and their relatives termed the verdict, which came more than 21 years after the incident, a ”victory of truth”.