More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, died in the 2002 riots
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Villagers have found the remains of a number of bodies in a grave in the Indian state of Gujarat, officials say.
Human rights activists say they are the remains of Muslims killed in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
But a senior police official says it is still unclear
whether the remains belong to riot victims or whether an older
graveyard has been dug up.
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed in the 2002 riots, although many believe the figure to be higher.
Judicial inquiry
Residents of the Pandarwada village in the state's Panchmahal district uncovered the remains near a river bank.
The riots started after the Godhra train blaze
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Twenty-six people are said to have died in an attack on the village in 2002.
A human rights activist, Teesta Setalvad, says all those
accused of carrying out the killings were acquitted in 2002 for lack of
evidence.
She says human rights organisations will now approach
the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday to press for the remains of the
bodies to be sent for a forensic test.
The director general of police in Gujarat, AK Bhargav, says a team of police officials has been sent to the area to investigate.
The Gujarat riots broke out after 58 Hindus were killed
when a train was set on fire in the town of Godhra, allegedly by a
Muslim mob.
The Sabarmati Express was carrying Hindu pilgrims
returning from the disputed holy site at Ayodhya when it was attacked.
How the blaze started is not clear.
Gujarat police and local authorities have been heavily
criticised for failing to come to the help of victims during the
violence, which was among the worst in India since partition in 1947.
A judicial inquiry into the riots is still to conclude its investigation.
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