Sixteen of Gujarat’s 24 districts were engulfed in the
most organised armed mob attacks on Muslims between February 28 and March
2, 2002, when most of the attacks were concentrated. Rampaging mobs were
at it until mid-March. In some parts of Ahmedabad and Mehsana they are
still on the loose.(Another three districts had sporadic bouts of
organised violence.) Nowhere were the mobs less that 2-3,000, most often
they were more than 5-10,000 strong. This and the fact that they were
armed with swords, trishuls and agricultural instruments that could
kill; the fact that the manner of arson, hacking and killing was
chillingly similar; all suggest a carefully laid out plan behind the
attacks. It is only trained cadres who can spill out in such an organised
fashion, in thousands across the state of Gujarat, within the ‘72 hours’
it took Chief Minister Modi to ‘bring things to normal.’
February 27, 2002
* Godhra: 58 persons torched alive in bogie
of Sabarmati express.
(Stray stabbings at Ahmedabad and Anand).
Stabbing at Varodara of a Muslim vendor as Kar
sevaks returned
Rajpardi village, Bharuch
65 persons travelling in a tempo from Kidiad to Modasa
in Sabarkantha burnt alive at Babaliya, Khanpur chowki Panchmahal.
February 28, 2002
* Ahmedabad: Civil Hospital, Sola. Bodies are
brought, angry slogans raised
* Gulberg Society, Chamanpura: Armed mob of
20-22,000 holds the whole of Gulberg society to ransom for over seven
hours. Seventy persons hacked and burnt alive. (10-12 women and girls were
raped). Commissioner Pandey failed to save the victims.
* Naroda Gaon-Naroda Patiya: Armed mobs of 15,000
attack and kill women, children and men – over 200 lives lost; Ample
evidence of private firing with rifles by the mobs also armed with
trishuls, dharias, spears and other weapons. (Police watched).
* Naroda Fruit Market: Armed mobs of 10,000 attack
Muslim wholesalers selectively.
* Odhav, Gomtipur and Amraiwadi. Mobs attack.
* Paldi: attacked by huge mob. Judges/Police
Quarters attacked
* Kabadi Market: attacked by mob of 7-10,000;
destruction carries on for four days.
* Vatwa: attacked by mob of 10-20,000.
Restaurants and housing societies within minority areas
are selectively targeted.
1,100 hotels in Ahmedabad, Baroda and on the Highways
torched with special chemical between February 28 and March 1.
A mob first ransacked a Honda City car showroom on the
Sarkhej-Gandhinagar Highway
* Vadodara: At least 7 persons killed and 30
injured in mob attacks on the localities of Fatehpura, Chhipwad and
Makarpura.
* Vadodara Rural: Savli, Chhotaudaipur, Desar,
Sokhda, Laxmipura , Padra, Vadu, Karjan, Vaghodiya, Udalpur, Tarsali.
Kisanwadi, Sama Society, Madhavnagar, Ashabi Chawl were attacked. In rural
parts, Sokhada and Chappad were targeted.
* Gandhinagar: A mob enters the Old Secretariat
building in the high-security zone and burns down the offices of the Wakf
Board and the state Minority Finance Corporation.
* Sabarkantha:
* Near Prantij: Three British Nationals travelling
in a local taxi are attacked; one survives; the driver is killed, two are
still missing.
Villages/towns across this district are brutally
targeted for four-five days: Meghraj, Bayad, Dhansura, Vadali, Prantij,
Vijaynagar, Dolapur, Fazalpur, Madhavkampa, Talod, Modasa, Malpur, Sardoi,
Himmatnagar, Idar, Khhedbrahma, Bhiloda, Tintoi, Gajra, Jadar, Zaledar,
Faredi, Pandharwada, Kavath, Unjha, Dailol, Meghdharol, Sathamba, Shamlaji,
Demai, Limkheda, Halol. The Highway through Sabarkantha was targeted by
rampaging mobs.
Mobs in the above-mentioned areas led by local leaders
of the VHP and BD encircled and cordoned of the roads and stopped all
vehicles carrying milk, vegetables and other basic food items.
*Himmatnagar: One young Muslim boy was allegedly
shot to death at point blank range by the Superintendent of Police in
Himmatnagar.
* Ahmedabad Rural: Dholka, Jetalpur, Ramol, Mandal
targeted by mobs of not less that 3,000, armed with trishuls,
swords and agricultural implements.
*Bharuch city
*Ankleshwar GIDC area
March 1, 2002
*Panchmahal:
*Pandharwada: 70 people burnt alive Pandharwada
village in Khanpur taluka of Panchmahal.
Six persons burnt alive by large mobs near Dailol
railway station located between Kalol and Halol, about 50 km from Godhra;
The victims were walking on the Highway when a mob of more than 200 people
caught up with them, doused them in kerosene and burnt them alive. Of the
victims, four were women.
Other towns and villages brutally attacked:Godhra,
Kadadara, Anjanva, Santrampur, affected: Limkheda, Dailol, Mora.
*Mehsana: Sardarpura village:8 farm labourers
belonging to the minority community burnt alive.
Other towns and villages brutally attacked: Pansar,
Visnagar, Unjha, Umta, Becharaji.
*Kheda: Villages/towns badly affected: Mehmdavad,
Jinger, Ghodasar, Kheda, Nadiad, Rural: Ode, Vasad, Petlad, Khambhat,
Sojitra, Dharmaj, Borsad, Mehmdavad, Kathlal, Virsad, Balasinor, Pij,
Sarsa, Chikhodara, Dakor, Nilampura, Pahad, Thasara, Sevaliya, Ratanpur,
Haldasvar, Timba, Khalsar, Chaklasi, Peej, Piplak, Dumral.
*Ahmedabad: Gomtipur, Vatwa: large bastis
gutted and property looted
*Gandhinagar: Curfew in Gandhinagar for the first
time in 30 yrs on March 1. Mobs moved freely in the capital targeting
specific residences and establishments belonging to Muslims.
Superintendent of police E Radhakrishna said that the curfew had been
imposed as a precautionary measure. The incidents took place in Sector 21,
Gha-2 , Gha-6, Sector 25, Sector 26 and Sector 27. Houses were set on fire
in Sector 27 while commercial establishments were vandalised in the other
areas. Residents of Sector 29, which has a sizeable number of minority
members, including businessmen and government servants, said that the
violence was unthinkable and they were afraid for the first time.
*Junagadh: This haven of communal harmony saw some
tension errupt with a stabbing on March 1 but matters were handled swiftly
by the local police.
*Banaskantha: Mankdi, Thalwad, Jitpur in Danta
taluka:entire villages have been burnt.(Four Bohra Muslims burnt
alive).Villages badly affected: Deesa, Sesanava, Danta, Dhanera, Thara,
Tharad, Bhildi, Sihori, Bhabhar, Hadad, Mankdi, Panthawada, Malotra,
Palanpur, Vijaynagar, Vadgam, Lakhani.
*Patan: Violence in Chanasma.
In Radhanpur village three persons travelling in a jeep
attacked, two killed; one survives.
*Varodara-BEST Bakery, Hanuman Tekri, Vadi
Panigate, Raghovpura, Machchipith
*Varodara Rural-Rahovpura, Tulsiwadi, Bhayli. Laxmipura,
Bajwa, Maretha, Tejgadh and Kanwat in tribal parts of rural Varodara are
targeted
*Anand: Villages badly targeted: Mogar, Sarsa,
Chikodra, Bedwa, Samarkha and Odh, Vasad.
* Bharuch: Rajpardi, Rajpipla, Devaliya.
March 2, 2002
*Bharuch: Bharuch city, Ankleshwar
Rural: Bhimpura, Amod, Valiya, Netrang, Jambusar,
Nandod, Jhagadiya, Andada, Diva.
*Halol: Factories, trucks set on fire ; 5 units in
Halol Industrial Belt set on fire; 9 trucks carrying 63 Opel astras from
the General Motors factory in Halol are burnt. Lucky Studio, owned by film
producer Sajid Nadiadwala, was also gutted.
The 5 units that were set on fire included four plastic
factories and one engineering unit. The industrial town of Halol remained
tense as only 17 policemen were on duty in the town limits and they are
unable to stop the rampaging the mobs from targeting the factories.
*Rajkot: Rajkot (never experienced communal
violence before this) saw violence spread in the industrial areas of Ajit,
Shapar-Veraval and GIDC estate. 25 small and medium industrial units were
set ablaze in the Ajit industrial area alone. In the Shapar- Veraval area,
units like Suraj Industrial, Nazeen Industries, Polymer Packaging and
Antech Television were damaged by the mobs.
Rajkot city, and village Gondal. Are targeted
*Latipot: About 15 units with stocks of wooden
logs, were set on fire, causing a loss of about Rs. 5 crore. In the
Kevdawadi and Gundawadi areas, units like Bazuki Industries and Kirti
packaging which had large stocks of packaging material and cardboard ,
were torched. Eyewitnesses say that the police deployment was inadequate
in these areas.
Violence erupts in Mehsana, Godhra, Surat, Vadodara and
Anand. Even as chief minister Modi boasted about how "peace had returned"
and made tall claims of "90 per cent violence ebbing down," as many as 29
Muslims were torched to death at Sardarpara village in Mehsana and over 39
people were killed in separate incidents in Surat, Bhavnagar, Sabarkantha
and Vadodara.
March 2, 2002
Families from far-flung areas in districts of of
Sabarkantha, Mehsana, Banaskantha, Panchmahal, Ahmedabad, Kheda, Baroda,
Broach, Surat and Bhavnagar fled to safer places as their houses and
business centres had been destroyed in violence by unruly mobs since
February 28.The worst hit districts were Ahmedabad, Mehsana, Sabarkantha
and Panchmahal where a large number of houses and shops belonging to
minority community were set afire after ransacking and looting of houses
and shops, and family members being killed during the orgy of violence in
the past five days.
March 3, 2002
*Gandhinagar: A large number of shops, showrooms,
larri-gallas and even houses belonging to Muslims were set on fire
in all parts of the city on Feb 28, March 1 and 2.
March 4, 2002
*Surat, Bhavnagar, Ahmedabad, Morbi in Rajkot
district. Violence spreads to the streets in several areas, including
Surat, Bhavnagar and Ahmedabad on March 3. Police opened fire on mobs
setting fire to property and looting goods in Bhavnagar and Surat. Morbi
in Rajkot district is also engulfed in violence.
March 4, 2002
Police firing on rioting mobs claimed 2 lives in
Sabarkantha and one in Kheda, while 6 people were killed in other
incidents of violence in Vadodara, Mehsana and Dahod.
*Vadodara Rural: Savli, Chhotaudaipur, Desar,
Sokhda (Vadodara), Laxmipura village, Padra, Vadu, Karjan, Vaghodiya,
Udalpur; (Violence in Chotaudaipur continued until March 12).
March 6, 2002
Mass burials sans relatives for Naroda, Gulberg
victims.
As many as 96 bodies of victims of the post-Godhra
carnage were buried in a mass grave in the Dudheshwar graveyard this
evening; another mass grave for about 200 victims was being readied in
Sarkhej, on the outskirts of the city, for a burial tomorrow.
A big grave was dug and the bodies, brought from the
Civil Hospital morgue, lowered into it one by one. They were victims of
the Naroda Patiya and the Gulberg Society carnages. Among them were 5
children, including a 6-month-old baby; 46 women, including one who was
pregnant, and a handicapped man whose crutches lay by the side. 500
persons silently watched and prayed. CM Narendra Modi, driving less than a
kilometre away, did not visit the graveyard.