Ahmedabad: A Hindu witness in Sardarpura massacre case has complained
that villagers have boycotted him and even targeted him for speaking
against the rioters. During a media briefing on Thursday, Mangabhai
Raval said he testified against the rioters and many of those whom he
had named were convicted. Raval said he was running a tea stall, but
people stopped coming to his shop and he had to close it. “Before I
was to depose, they told me not to speak against them. After
conviction, they pressurized me to leave the place. There are systematic
efforts on part of the authorities for eviction,” he said. He has filed
a complaint before the higher authorities in this regard. Other
witnesses of the case claimed that they had cited specific instances
that showed that there was a conspiracy behind the attack in which 33
persons were killed on March 1, 2002. The special court refused to
believe that it was a conspiracy and held that the attack was a
spontaneous reaction of Godhra carnage. Social activist Teesta
Setalvad said the witnesses have appealed against the trial court’s
decision that it was not a conspiracy though the SIT and state
government do not press hard on this aspect. The Gujarat high court is
likely to hear the appeals on Friday for admission.