Modi sued for 5 million dollars Himatnagar | June 24, 2004 9:12:23 PM IST
A
court in Gujarat on Thursday asked the state government to file replies
in a compensation case by the widows of two British Muslims burned to
death by a mob in communal riots two years ago. The women have sued 14
of the state's top officials, including chief minister Narendra Modi,
for 5 million dollars, accusing them of genocide and torture.
The
lawsuits, filed in a district court in Himmatnagar town, hold Modi
responsible for "the acts of commission and omission committed by his
officers in the command structure".
A
statement by the relatives of the dead men termed the riots as gruesome
and targeted violence against minority Muslims and a clear case of a
crime against humanity.
The
Gujarat government has till July 31 to reply. "The matter has been
adjourned till July 31 for the defendants to file the written
statement. That has all that has happened," Anand Grover, counsel for
the complainant, said.
The
suits by the two men's widows, Sherin Dawood and Shamima Dawood, also
seek damages for Imran Dawood, a relative who was stabbed and seriously
wounded in the attack.
"I
appeared on behalf of the defendants. I have pledged for the time to
file a written statment. In reference to other cases of Naroda Patiya
and all other things to which my clients are not related to, I prayed
for time to file the written statement," R. Pandya, the defence lawyer,
said. Sakil Dawood and Saeed Dawood, both British, were visiting India
when a mob turned on them and burned them to death in February 2002, at
the height of communal bloodshed.(ANI)
