AHMEDABAD - Eight undertrials in the Gulberg Society communal riot case who have been lodged in the high-security central jail here for the past 10 years have gone on an indefinite strike demanding a speedy trial.The eight prisoners, all Hindus, have refused to take any food and have told the jail staff that they would sit on an indefinite fast till the authorities decided on releasing them on bail or began trial.
Jail Superintendent R J Pargi told Khaleej Times that he had submitted their application seeking a speedy trial or bail to the higher authorities.
As many as 69 residents of the Gulberg Housing Society here, including former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri, were allegedly burnt alive by a Hindu mob on February 28, 2002 at the peak of the bloody communal riots. In a similar case, Aslam Shaikh, an accused in a loot case, has been languishing in the jail even three years after the Gujarat high court granted him bail.
mahesh@khaleejtimes.com
