Search the Internet          Tips

Forensic report contradicts police version of Godhra incident

A forensic report, which forms part of a police chargesheet, said the coach was set ablaze from inside.

This contradicts the police version that the train caught fire when a crowd of Muslims threw buckets of petrol at it from outside.

Fifty-eight persons, including some pilgrims returning from Ayodhya, died in the incident.

"The inspection of the tracks and burn patterns on the exterior of the coach confirm that the inflammable liquid did not come from outside," the report said.

The report was compiled by a government forensic laboratory and was prepared by forensic experts who re-enacted the attack.

In their re-enaction using water, the experts found that only 10 to 15 per cent of the liquid thrown from outside a coach went inside while the rest spilled onto the tracks.

It said at least 60 litres of inflammable liquid was splashed inside one end of the coach and set alight. If the liquid had been thrown from outside, the flames should have engulfed the coach from underneath, they explained.

The report also said that three of the coach's four doors were open at the time of the attack contrary to accounts by witnesses that passengers had locked the doors and windows to escape stone-pelting.

A senior police official, who declined to be named, said the report would not be the 'sole factor determining the case. There are dozens of statements by witnesses that are equally important'.

Fifty-four people have been charged so far in connection with the attack.

Gujarat's BJP government suspects 'outside forces, including Pakistan's ISI' - of being responsible for the attack.

Reuters

The Sabarmati in Flames: Complete Coverage

Back to top

Tell us what you think of this report