SIT's 1st big haul of convictions

AHMEDABAD: The Naroda Patia case is the first probed by the SIT in which it has succeeded in securing a large number of convictions of people arrested by it since 2008.
Of 24 persons the SIT nabbed after its constitution, 11 have been held guilty by special judge Jyotsana Yagnik. The conviction rate of those arrested by the Gujarat Police is similar - of 47 persons arrested, 21 have been convicted.
Explaining the reason behind the SIT's success, special prosecutor Akhil Desai said that in this case he had requested the court to ignore the investigation conducted by the Gujarat Police. "There were many contradictions, and witnesses had revealed names of many accused for the first time in 2008," he said. "The witnesses belong to the poor strata of society and it seems that the court relied too much on their testimonies."
Before this, the SIT did not make any arrest in the Godhra carnage case or in the two cases registered in Ode town. The new probe agency arrested only five persons in the Dipda Darwaza case, but of them only a former investigator - retired PI M K Patel - was convicted. Similarly, the SIT arrested 19 persons in the Sardarpura massacre case, but it could secure only two convictions.