'No CCTV footage, no eyewitnesses': Ahmedabad court acquits four in post-Babri riot case

Gujarat: An Ahmedabad sessions court has acquitted four men accused of rioting and arson in the Naroda area during the communal violence that followed the Babri Masjid demolition in 1992-93. The court ruled that no substantial evidence linked the accused to the incident.

The violence in Naroda erupted after the murder of a shopkeeper, leading to the looting and burning of shops owned by members of the minority community. Police registered two First Information Reports (FIRs) on January 10, 1993, and arrested 13 individuals from the alleged mob.

Who stood trial?
Among those arrested, four individuals—Kaushik Patel, Samir Patel, Chandrakant Valand, and Bhagwan Patel—faced trial. The court examined the evidence but found no credible material, such as CCTV footage or eyewitness testimony, linking them to the crime.

What evidence was presented?
During the trial, only a few witnesses testified. A key injured witness later turned hostile, while a police witness failed to identify the accused. The lack of conclusive proof led the court to clear the four men of all charges.