Gujarat: 2002 riots convict who jumped parole arrested

AHMEDABAD: A man convicted in the 2002 post-Godhra riots case in Gujarat, who jumped parole about two months back, has been arrested by Ahmedabad Police, an official said on Tuesday.

The convict, Kalubhaiya Rathod (43), was nabbed on Monday and primary investigation revealed he jumped parole to look after his ailing mother, Krushnanagar police station's senior inspector J R Patel said.

Rathod, who was facing charges of murder, attempt to murder, rioting and arson, was among 16 people convicted by the Gujarat High Court in 2018 for their role in Naroda Patiya riots here in which 97 people, mostly from the minority community, were killed.

He was sentenced to life imprisonment by the high court and was lodged in the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad, the city police said.

On September 8, the jail authorities lodged a complaint at Krushnanagar police station against Rathod under the Prisons Act for jumping parole.

The complaint said he did not report back to the jail despite his parole ending around two months back.

"Rathod was allegedly on the run since last two months after jumping parole.

We gathered information about his whereabouts and finally nabbed him from a place in our area on Monday.

We handed him over to the Sabarmati jail authorities after completion of COVID-19-related protocols," Patel said.

Preliminary investigation revealed that Rathod jumped parole to look after his ailing mother, he added.