13 Godhra riot convicts arrive in MP for community service

Days after the Supreme Court granted bail to 15 convicts in a 2002 post-Godhra riots case in Gujarat, 13 of them have arrived in Indore and Jabalpur cities in Madhya Pradesh in two groups to carry out the mandated community service, officials said on Wednesday.

While six of them arrived on Monday in Indore, where they are engaged in the cleaning work at a temple, seven others arrived in Jabalpur on Tuesday night, where they will work as volunteers in the Narmada Kumbh scheduled to start from February 24, the officials said.

These convicts were sentenced to life imprisonment for a massacre in Ode town in Gujarat's Anand district, in which 23 people were burnt alive.

On January 28, the Supreme Court had ordered to split these convicts into two groups, sending one to Indore and the other to Jabalpur, and ordered them to regularly report to police stations in these cities.

Talking to PTI, Indore District Legal Aid Officer Subhash Chaudhary said, "As per the Supreme Court's bail conditions, these convicts have started community service in the city (Indore). Currently they are engaged in cleaning of the kitchen and other parts of the premises in a local temple."
Meanwhile, talking to PTI, Madhya Pradesh State Legal Services Authority member secretary Giribala Singh said, "Seven of these convicts reached Jabalpur on Tuesday night. They will be volunteering at the Narmada Kumbh."