Ahmedabad: A woman passenger travelling in the ill-fated S-6 coach of the 'Sabarmati
Express' on December 20 deposed before the two-man commission enquiring into the
Godhra incident that a "minority community tea vendor when entered the bogey was
jostled out by agitated Ram Sevaks".
Sheila Pal, a native of Kanpur travelling from Kanpur to Vapi with her husband and
pregnant daughter-in-law Sima Pal, deposed before K G Shah and G T Nanavati riot
enquiry commission that there was some scuffle at the platform followed by heavy
stone pelting on their bogey from outside.
Pal said her husband initially had got off at the Godhra station to get tea and
decided to have it inside the bogey.
She told the commission that when a tea vendor with a 'topi' (traditional Muslim
cap) came inside to give the cups, agitated Ram Sevaks told her not to have tea from
his hands and jostled him from the train.
According to her deposition, backed by her previous statement in the police first
information report (FIR), Pal said there was heavy stone pelting from both the sides
of the track and her husband managed to jump off.
She added that as she was searching for her daughter-in-law, a bottle containing
some inflammables burst on the floor and her sari and shawl caught fire. She
informed the commission that her daughter-in-law was still missing.
Pal added that all she could remember amidst all the smoke was that someone pushed
her out of the door of the bogey and took her to safety.
Justice K G Shah (retired) said, "Out of the 40-odd witness who have deposed before
us, she is the only one who has said that a Muslim tea vendor did enter the bogey,
but was pushed out by Ram Sevaks present".
The commission is set to visit the S-6 bogey on December 22 and then head for Baroda
where they expect the district administration to make arrangements to meet victims
from the city and nearby Panchmahal and Bharuch districts.
PTI
