Bhana was on the lam for 14 years.
By Sreekanth A. Nair
Gujarat police arrested Farooq Mohammed Bhana, who allegedly was the master mind behind the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Godhra railway station in 2002 that killed 59 people, on Wednesday. He was absconding for 14 years.
The S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was set on fire at Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, that killed kar sevaks returning from Ayodhya. It later provoked the riots in Gujarat killing about 110 people.
Gujarat Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS) arrested Bhana from the Kalol-Khadki toll plaza in Panchmahal district after a tip-off. The police said that Bhana used to meet his family at the plaza.
“Bhana was on the run since 2002. He was a corporator of Polan-Bazar area of Godhra when the incident took place. It is alleged that on the night of February 26, Bhana and others held a meeting at Aman Guest House near the railway station as part of their conspiracy to set ablaze the S6 coach of the train,” Inspector General (IG) of ATS J K Bhatt said at a press conference.
“He fled Godhra and joined an Islamic organization which has an international presence. He wandered with the group to different places in the country and lived in mosques for at least four years,” another official told Indian Express.
According to the police, Bhana planned the attack and explained the same to the people who carried it out.
“All the key conspirators, including Farooq, had met at the Aman Guest House, where the other team members were instructed to carry out the attack on the train the next day… arrangements for fuel to set the train coaches on fire were also discussed,” J K Bhatt said.
Bhana was a councilor in Godhra Municipality when the incident happened. The police have found that he has been living in a slum in Mumbai on a fake identity. He has met his family three times since the incident. He has also visited Pakistan.
In 2011, 31 people were convicted in the Godhra train attack and 11 were sentenced to death. The convicts have filed an appeal in the Gujarat High Court challenging the trial court’s verdict.