Ahmedabad: An Ahmedabad court has acquitted three individuals accused in a 2002 Gujarat riots case after the prosecution failed to produce the primary evidence a video recording and the main witness turned hostile. The case was based on allegations that the accused were seen with an AK-47 rifle during the riots.
Case Based on Videographer’s Complaint
The case pertained to two FIRs registered at the Dariapur police station following riots on April 14, 2002. The complaint was initiated after a local videographer, Satish Dalwadi, submitted a VHS cassette to the police. Dalwadi, who was a member of the local peace committee, had been instructed by the then-Police Inspector of Dariapur, R.H. Rathod, to record any incidents of communal violence.
The FIR named Alamgiri Sheikh, Hanif Sheikh, Imtiyaz Sheikh, Raufmiya Syed, and others, alleging they were involved in the violence. The complaint was largely based on the video footage, which purportedly showed the accused participating in the riots.
Prosecution’s Case Collapses
During the trial, the prosecution’s case fell apart. Satish Dalwadi, the videographer, turned hostile, telling the court that he did not know what he had filmed. Adding to the collapse, the then-Police Sub-Inspector, H.H. Chauhan, also turned hostile.
Crucially, the court noted that the VHS video cassette, which was the foundational piece of evidence, was never presented during the proceedings. The court also observed that no weapons were ever recovered and there was no other oral or documentary evidence to prove that the accused were in possession of firearms at the time of the alleged crime. Due to the complete lack of substantiating evidence, the court acquitted the three men.
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