Seven years after the anti-Muslim massacre in Gujarat 2002, the state government has redrawn its list of the dead – the missing are now presumed dead. The official toll, hence, stands corrected – 1,180 dead instead of 952. Also, the Gujarat high court on February 27 received the first petition seeking direction to the state government to release compensation for the missing people, who will now be considered dead.
Riot victim Saeedabanu Malek from Naroda Gam lost four members of her family on February 28, 2002. Bodies of her two brothers were found. However, nobody could identify her mother Jainabibi and brother Zakir. So they were reported missing. Saeedabanu moved a petition on February 27 seeking compensation for these two members. With this, the toll in the Naroda Gam massacre, which was originally nine, has gone up to 11. Justice K S Puj admitted her petition and issued notices to authorities asking them why these cases were not considered for compensation of Rs 1.5 lakh by the state government and Rs 3.5 lakh per victim by the Centre. Compensation has already been given to 1,169 people, including those missing. The official toll in Naroda Patia massacre which was 83 will now rise to 98. The highest number of dead is from Gulbarg Society where 70 people will be officially declared dead, including Azhar Mody, the Parsi boy who went missing. Originally, 39 were declared dead.
Meanwhile, 79 POTA accused in the Godhra carnage case also moved an application in the designated POTA court seeking to shift the case to a sessions court in Godhra. In the petition moved through advocate Ilyas Pathan, it was contended that the stay on removal of terror charge extended by the high court was over on February 26. And since the apex court refused the state an extension on the stay, the case should technically be heard by a sessions court in Godhra.