Ahmedabad: Gujarat government has appointed Sonia Gokani, the district sessions judge, as the first Prevention of Terrorist Act (POTA) court judge for the trial of all cases related to the anti-terrorist Law invoked against the 131 accused in Godhra train carnage, official sources said.

According to an official announcement on March 7 night, the cases against all the 131 accused of the Godhra carnage would be heard by the special POTA court and it would cease to work once the trials are over.

Earlier on March 6, Gujarat government, through a notification, had designated city sessions court as the special POTA court, having headquarters at Badra in the city.

The special investigation team has arrested more than 70 persons, including Maulana Hussain Umarji, allegedly the mastermind and prime accused behind the carnage, which claimed the lives of 59 karsevaks returning from Ayodhya in Sabarmati Express on February 27 last year near Godhra railway station.

Meanwhile, Umarji's remand application will now come up for hearing in this special court.

The notification for appointment of a special public prosecutor has not yet been issued.

PTI