The riots in 2002 left at least 1,000 dead - most of them Muslims
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An Indian court has asked Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi to
respond to a civil lawsuit filed by the widows of two UK Muslims killed
in riots in 2002.
The two men, Saeed and Shakil Dawood, were allegedly burned to death by a Hindu mob.
Their widows are now suing Mr Modi's government, accusing it of genocide and torture.
More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the riots - the worst in India in decades.
The court in the Himmatnagar district of Gujarat
has asked Mr Modi and 13 others, including the former Home Minister
Gordhan Zadaphiya, to state their positions in connection with the
civil suit.
Shireen and Samina Dawood, the widows of Saeed and Shakil Dawood, have asked for $5m in compensation.
The civil suit holds Mr Modi responsible for "the acts
of commission and omission committed by his officers in the command
structure".
Mob fury
The two British-born cousins were murdered near Prantij town of Gujarat's Sabarkantha district.
The rioters stopped their car when they were returning to Gujarat after a visit to Agra in northern India.
Four people - the two Dawood cousins, their childhood
friend Mohammad Aswat, and the driver of their car - were all burnt to
death.
The only survivor of the incident, Imran Dawood, is also among the petitioners in the case filed this week.
Six people were charged with the British tourists' murder but were later released on bail.
Retrial ordered
The Gujarat government has been severely criticised over its handling of the riot cases.
Very few people have been brought to justice over the riots.
In a recent landmark order, India's Supreme Court
ordered the retrial of one case in which 12 Muslims were burned to
death by a Hindu mob during the riots.
Twenty-one Hindus were acquitted last June of killing the Muslims when many witnesses withdrew their evidence.
The Gujarat riots began after 59 Hindus were killed in an arson attack on a train that was blamed on a Muslim mob.
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