Gujarat ATS arrests main conspirator behind 2002 Godhra train attack

Farooq Bhana, the main conspirator in the 2002 Godhra train attack, was arrested by the Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) on Wednesday. The Indian Express report stated that he was arrested from Kalol in Panchmahal district in Gujarat. However, Times Now reported that he was arrested from Mumbai. [caption id=“attachment_2219330” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] The Godhra train burning incident had taken the lives of 58 people. Reuters[/caption] As many as 58 people had died when the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was torched at Godhra railway station on 27 February, 2002. The incident had triggered large scale riots in the state in which around 1,000 people were killed. Times Now reported that it was Bhana who had informed the other conspirators that the Sabarmati Express was running late. He was the one who had given other details about the train and he was behind the execution of the entire attack. “Bhana had told in the meeting that the Sabarmati Express will be late and instead of 2 AM it would reach at 7 AM. He part of the conspiracy behind burning the train for which 140 liters of petrol was procured following the meeting at the guest house (sic),” Indian Express quoted ATS officials as saying. According to a Zee News report, Bhana is the fourth absconding accused in the case to be arrested for the incident. Another accused in connection with the train burning incident, who was absconding since 2002, had been arrested by the Godhra Local Crime Branch (LCB) in Gujarats Panchmahal district in October last year, PTI had reported. Farookh Mohammad Dhantiya (45) had been nabbed by the LCB on a specific tip off from his residence near Issac mosque in Signal Falia area near Godhra railway station, sub-inspector of Godhra LCB, HB Zala, had said. Earlier, on 16 July last year, LCB had nabbed one Kadir Abdul Gani from Godhra town and handed him over to SIT, while one Hussain Suleman Mohan (35) was held from Jhabua in Madhya Pradesh on 23 July. With inputs from PTI