Convicts of Deepda Darwaza riot case seek bail from Guj HC

The twenty-one convicts of the 2002 Deepda Darwaza riots case have applied to the Gujarat High Court for bail.
The case relates to killing of eleven members of a family, including two children and a 65-year-old woman, on February 28, 2002 in Deepda Darwaza area of Visnagar town in Mehsana district of Gujarat, following the Godhra train fire incident.
It is one of the nine cases probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).
The matter is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.
The trial court, on July 30, 2012, awarded life imprisonment to 21 persons, a one year jail term to a former police officer, and acquitted 61 others, of the total 83 accused.

The SIT has already filed an appeal, saying that these persons should be convicted for murder; the trial court convicted them for attempt to murder under section 307 of the Indian Penal Code.
The SIT has also challenged the acquittal of 57 accused, on the ground that they were involved in the criminal conspiracy.
Those acquitted include former MLA Prahlad Gosa and former municipal council president Dayabhai Patel, both BJP members.