Monday, June 13 2005 17:14 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ahmedabad: Kin of victims, who died in Gulbarg society massacre, including widow of former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri, today (Jun 13, 2005) filed a compensation suit in a local court against the ruling BJP, VHP leader Pravin Togadia and others for the attack on the society on February 28, 2002 during the post-Godhra riots.

Thirty-eight persons were killed during the riots.

The compensation suit worth over Rs seven crores was filed in the city civil court by 21 relatives, including Zakia Jafri, widow of the slain Congress MP.

This suit was filed more than three years after the incident that was a fall out of the train carnage at Godhra where 59 karsevaks were killed inside the Sabarmati Express train on February 27, 2002.

In the suit, the petitioners have sought compensation for the loss of lives, the trouble and trauma caused to the survivors of the carnage and their relatives and extensive damages caused to the houses in the society, advocate Irshad Mansuri, representing the petitioners told PTI.

The petition also names Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) international general secretary Pravin Togadia and other local leaders of the Bajrang Dal as accused persons, who allegedly instigated violent crowd to make systematic attacks on minority- dominated societies.

The 21 different petitioners have filed the compensation suit for various amounts and the biggest is that of the Jafri family where they have sought Rs 70 lakhs as damages caused to them.

The suit stated that the victim Ehsaan Jafri was dragged out of the house, killed and later burnt by the mob who also ransacked the house and damaged it extensively.

The suit also added as per Supreme Court directives the organisation that calls for a bandh call is bound to bear the expenses of the damages that are caused as an outcome of the bandh call.

The petitioner added that they had issued notices to the respondents on March 4, 2005 but got no replies till today.

This is the second such compensation suit filed in a post-Godhra riots case. The first one was filed in April 2004 in a Himmatnagar court by kin of two slain NRI's of minority community who were killed by a violent crowd on February 28, 2002.

Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 13 others have been made a party to this particular suit seeking compensation amounting to Rs 21 crores with interest.