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Godhra train fire accidental : Banerjee Committee report |
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The Justice U.S. Banerjee Committee appointed by the UPA Government has held that the fire which occurred in a coach of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra railway station in Gujarat on February 27, 2002, was accidental and was not caused deliberately. Fifty-nine persons lost their lives in the fire which led to widespread riots in the state. Thousands of people, most of them belonging to the Muslim community, lost their lives in the riots.
After handing over the report to the Railway Board Chairman, Justice Bannerjee told mediapersons, “It was not a deliberately inflicted fire, but an accidental one. The former Supreme Court judge was appointed in September 2004 to probe the cause of the fire aboard coach S-6, carrying kar sevaks, Hindu religious volunteers.
The Railways, then under Nitish Kumar, virtually endorsed the theory that the fire was caused by outsiders. Justice Banerjee dismissed it, pointing out that police officials and others in their testimony stated there was no crowd at the station and those present were just onlookers. He termed as “misconception” a claim that all four entrances of the coach were locked. There were about 250 passengers in the coach. Only 59 persons died and the others escaped. “How could it happen if entry doors were locked ?” Justice Banerjee attributed the deaths to toxicity and suffocation caused by rexin, foam and other inflammable materials.
The Sangh Parivar in Gujarat has described the Banerjee Committee’s final report as mere eyewash and an attempt to please the political bosses. However, human rights activists said that it was the final outcome of the whole truth.
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