Godhra Train Burning: Key Accused Farooq Bhana Arrested After 14 Years

Farooq Bhana, a man accused of plotting the February 2002 attack on the Sabarmati Express in Gujarat’s Godhra that killed 59 people, has been arrested by the state’s anti-terrorist squad. Bhana had been on the run for 14 years.

A police chargesheet alleges that Farooq Bhana, a former municipal councilor, took part in a meeting of about 20 people at a guest house in Godhra on February 27 2002, to plan a mob attack hours later on the train, which was carrying kar sewaks or volunteers returning from Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
The mob set several coaches of the train afire as it stopped at the Godhra station; among the 59 people who died were many women and children. The Godhra attack was followed by massive communal violence in Gujarat that killed more than 1,100 people.

Farooq Bhana, who had been evading arrest ever since his name surfaced in police investigations, was arrested on Wednesday near Kalol toll Naka in central Gujarat.

More than 30 people have already been convicted for the Godhra train attack. Bhana was among six people who were listed as absconders