2002 A convict on fire in the train of Godhra dies in the hospital during treatment in Vadodara

A convict in the 2002 Godhra train carnage case, who was serving a life sentence in a central prison in Vadodara, Gujarat, died while being treated in a hospital, said on Saturday a manager. Bilal Ismael Abdul Majid or Haji Bilal, 61, died on Friday due to a pre-existing health condition, for which he was undergoing treatment at SSG Vadodara Hospital, Deputy Police Commissioner AV Rajgor said.

He added that Bilal had not been doing well for the past three or four years and had been transferred from prison to hospital on November 22 after his health deteriorated.

Bilal was one of 11 convicts serving a life sentence in the case of the burning of the S6 coach of the Sabarmati Express train in Godhra on February 27, 2002, while carrying kar sevaks from ‘Ayodhya. As many as 59 people were killed in the blaze, sparking widespread violence in the state.

Bilal and 10 others were first sentenced to death by a SIT court in 2011. However, in October 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted their death sentences to life imprisonment.

The Godhra train fire sparked large-scale riots across Gujarat in which more than 1,000 people, mostly from minority communities, were killed.