'Half justice' in Gulberg case, main accused let off: Jairam Ramesh

NEW DELHI: Congress today described as "half justice" the conviction of 24 of the 66 accused in the Gulberg society massacre case by an Ahmedabad special court.

"It is half justice - not full justice. I say half justice because the main accused - a BJP corporator - has been let free. Why he is being let free remains to be studied, analysed.

"In all such cases, our experience has been that the masterminds somehow manage to get themselves free...and the foot soldiers, the people who take orders, are found guilty," party spokesman Jairam Ramesh told reporters here.

The people who "masterminded" the massacre, who planned the massacre, should also be brought to book. "That is the only way this matter can be put to rest," he said.

Earlier in the day, Congress spokesperson Tom Vadakkan said the case was long-pending and has finally seen the light of the day.

"We haven't read the verdict completely. I do hope final justice is done to the victims. Accusations have been made and cross accusations have been made. Finally we believe that justice has been done," Vadakkan said.

More than 14 years after the ghastly Gulberg massacre that killed 69 people including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, 24 people were convicted by the special court which acquitted 36 others and dropped conspiracy charges against all the accused in one of the worst riots post-Godhra violence in Gujarat.