The Gujarat Police had charged 21 people with murder, but a fast-track court exonerated everyone in 2003 after the key witnesses became hostile. Notably, the court had criticised the police for delaying the FIR filing and expressed displeasure with the investigation.
Source: Times of India
The Gujarat High Court confirmed the 2003 decision, leading the daughter of the bakery owner to appeal to the Supreme Court. In the interests of justice and fairness, the highest court ordered a police reinvestigation in 2004 and a new trial in Maharashtra as opposed to Gujarat. In February 2006, the Mumbai Sessions Court found nine people guilty. Five of those found guilty were exonerated by the Bombay High Court in 2012 due to a lack of evidence, nevertheless.
Before being apprehended, Solanki and Gohil, who were both charged with participation in the 2007 Ajmer explosions, eluded capture for a number of years. However, the police utterly failed to establish a solid case against the pair.
Source: Live Law
To put it mildly, the prosecution’s and police’s performance has been woefully lacking. Additionally, no investigation was launched to identify the powerful individuals who reportedly used bribes to get witnesses to alter their evidence. Another unsolved question is why the CBI was never tasked with handling the case.
After the contentious release of 11 convicts in the Bilkis Bano case last year, the acquittal is yet another sad defeat for the victims of the Gujarat riots.
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