India court acquits 6 of crimes during Gujarat riots News
India court acquits 6 of crimes during Gujarat riots

[JURIST] An Indian court in Gujarat on Friday acquitted six individuals for their roles in the deaths of three British people during the 2002 Gujarat riots [JURIST news archive]. The riots began following the death of 60 Hindus in a fire aboard a train for which Muslims were blamed. The riots resulted in death of more than 2,000 people, mostly Muslims. The Gujarat court said that it found no evidence to support a conviction [AP report].

Narendra Modi [personal website], the state’s chief minister at the time of the riots, was elected prime minister [Guardian report] of India in May in a landslide victory. In January a judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of New York on Wednesday dismissed a lawsuit against Modi [JURIST report], agreeing with the US State Department [official websites] that he is entitled to immunity from lawsuits in US courts. The lawsuit was filed [JURIST report] by the American Justice Center [advocacy website] in September claimed that Modi failed to stop the 2002 riot.