Ahmedabad:
In Gujarat, almost a decade after a mob killed 23 Muslims in Ode village of Anand district, a special court is today expected to deliver its verdict against 47 accused. The Ode massacre was one amongst the nine post-Godhra riot cases investigated by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigating Team (SIT).
One of the residents, Majid Miyan, recalls the murderous night of March 1, 2002 - a few days after the Sabarmati train was set on fire killing 59 kar sewaks - when a rioting mob attacked about 20 Muslim homes.
All that remains are remnants of the three-storeyed house where Muslims from adjoining localities had taken refuge from the murderous onslaught. The three-hour-long dance of death played out by the mob left 23 people dead and bodies of only two could be recovered.
"I had rushed back from the fields, everything was on fire. People with weapons had torched the house and bolted it from outside. I tried calling out to my family members but everything was finished," he said.
Majid lost 13 members of his family including his mother. His cousin Shafiq Mohammad lost his wife and two children.
In the past 10 years, Majid and Shafiq have rarely visited these ruins but the pain is undiminished.
"We want justice... justice and nothing else," said Shafiq.
Barely 10 km away, Rafiq Bhai - the main complainant in the case - has never returned. He stays in a migrant township near Anand.
Though Rafiq and his family escaped the mob, he lost his house and business.
"We have lost everything in that attack. Besides, have lost faith in the neighbours, don't feel like going back," he said.
The victims and the 47 accused, all out on bail, now wait for the special court's verdict.