 |
3:46pm (UK)
Widows of UK Muslims Killed in Riot Launch £2.88M Lawsuit
"PA"
The widows of two British
citizens killed in sectarian riots in western India two years ago are
suing the state government for £2.88million, accusing officials of a
“conspiracy” resulting in their husbands’ deaths, their lawyer said
today.
The lawsuit, filed on Friday, names western Gujarat state’s chief
minister Narendra Modi and several top officials, the women’s attorney,
A M Malek, said.
The two accused officials of failing to stop Hindu mobs from going on a
rampage in early 2002 after blaming Muslims for an attack on a train
carrying Hindu pilgrims. More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were
killed and about 100,000 people fled their homes.
Human rights groups and opposition parties have accused Indian Prime
Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata
Party, which governs Gujarat state, of doing little to stop the riots.
Shamima Dawood and Shirin Dawood – widows of brothers Sayed Siddiqui
Dawood and Shakil Abdul Dawood, respectively – are seeking £2.88million
compensation based on the losses their families face due to their
husbands’ deaths.
Malek said the lawsuit accuses Modi and Gujarat’s home minister of
“hatching a conspiracy leading to the murder of the two Britons.” Their
petition also names top police officials “who failed to take any
action, or initiate investigations, into the killings,” Malek said.
Modi’s office declined to comment.
The civil suit was filed at a court at Himmatnagar, about 95 miles
northeast of Ahmadabad, Gujarat’s main city, Malek said. The judge set
a hearing for next Thursday.
The Dawoods were attacked and beaten to death by a Hindu mob on
February 28, 2002 after Hindus blamed Muslims for burning a train that
killed 60 Hindus in Godhra, a town in Gujarat.
Malek said the Dawoods lived in London and held British citizenship for more than 12 years.
|
|
