Godhra train burning accused Imran Ahmed Batuk arrested in Malegaon

MUMBAI: The Ahmedabad crime branch picked up Imran Ahmed Batuk, an alleged conspirator in the attack on the Sabarmati Express at Gujarat’s Godhra railway station in 2002, from Malegaon, near Nashik, on Tuesday.
“Batuk was released on bail after his arrest but fled. He was not attending the court. The Gujarat court had issued a warrant against him. The Gujarat police arrested him from here,” said police inspector Masood Khan of the Malegoan police.
Fifty-nine people were killed in the train incident while they were returning from Ayodhya, Uttar Pradesh.The train burning incident had triggered nationwide sectarian violence. Till date, 94 accused have been arrested in Godhra train carnage. Out of these, 21 were sentenced to life imprisonment and 10 were given death penalty. Later, 63 accused, including the alleged key conspirator Maulana Hussain Umerji, were acquitted. Umerji later died. After Batuk’s arrest, 13 are still absconding.
“Batuk was staying at his realtives’ house in Malegaon. Nobody knew that he was an accused in the Godhra case. We are trying to collect more information about it,” said a police source from Malegaon. In May this year, the Gujarat police had arrested Farooque Bhana near Kalol-Khadki check post, about 17 km from Godhra in Panchmahal district. Bhana was on his way to Godhra to meet his family members. He was caught after 14 years.