Mass grave found in Gujarat

New Delhi: Relatives of victims of Gujarat riots have exhumed skeletal remains of eight people from a mass grave in Lunawada village in Panchmahal district, which they believe are of those killed in the 2002 riots.

With the police tight-lipped about it, social activist Raees Khan told CNN-IBN that the remains found were of the locals belonging to Pandarwada village nearby.

The relatives of the victims whose bodies were found in the grave will be petitioning the court on Wednesday to look into the matter.

They had been trying for the past many months to get the local police to take action in the matter.

One of the worst massacres of the Gujarat riots took place in Pandarwada, where the death toll officially stands at 40. Many were declared missing.

Khan said, the relatives identified the bodies from the clothes that remains were wrapped in. The police performed post-mortem on the bodies after the riots and then buried them, he added.

The relatives, who had demanded DNA tests, had been searching for the bodies after the riots.

When contacted by CNN-IBN, Superintendent of Police, Panchmahal, J P Bhatt said, "I have no information of the incident as such. Some officers are trying to get there and find out."

DGP A K Bhargav said, identifying the bodies would be a tough job. He said, the relatives would know better. He reasoned, many riot-affected people had migrated to other areas and never returned.

Teesta Setalvad, an activist who runs an NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace and who has been working with the riot victims, has expressed shock at the police's indifference. Setalvad said, she would move the Gujarat High Court on Wednesday.

The Central Bureau of Investigation said that it will send a forensic team to the spot.

Meanwhile the Collector of Panchmahal has said that Lonawada police is investigating the matter and will take appropriate action in the matter.

He hinted that the police could even file FIRs against the people who were involved in the excavations.

He also added that the realtives of the victims should have taken the permission of the Sub Divisional Magistrate before exhuming the bodies.