SIT calls slain Brits' kin

Imran Dawood, a citizen of United Kingdom (UK) will be summoned for deposition in the murder of two British nationals in an incident which had occurred in Prantij near Himmatnagar of Sabarkantha district during post-Godhra riots.

The special investigation team (SIT), which had reinvestigated the case, has already embarked communicating with the state home department on summoning Dawood who was present when the fateful incident had occurred.

"We have already started the procedure to summon Dawood and have already communicated to the state government on initiating proceedings as it is bilateral issue between two countries," said Geetha Johri, convener of the SIT.

According to sources familiar with the development, the procedure to summon Dawood and his family members may take more than three months' time as it is issue between the governments of India and the UK. The state government has to get approval of the central home department and other authorities for bringing Dawood to Gujarat for the case.

Imran Dawood, who witnessed the gruesome incident that took place on February 28, 2002, currently lives in Yorkshire in UK with the rest of the family. Widows of the two victims of the incident have also filed a civil suit seeking compensation of Rs22 crore from the state government. The suit is pending before a civil court in Himmatnagar.

Meanwhile the special fast track court at Himmatnagar has started procedure of deposition of the witnesses of the case. "The trial of the case has begun from September 1 and we have so far taken deposition of 12 witnesses," said  Ajay Choksi, special counsel appearing in the case on behalf of  the SIT.

Most of the witnesses are panchs who were present during the recovery of articles and dead bodies after the incident. "All the panchs have supported the prosecution. We will start calling the 'material' witnesses who are important in the case later this month, including Imran Dawood," Choksi further said.

The panch witness in their statement had stated that four people were dragged from the car and burnt alive, a fact that even the panch witness had supported the prosecution, Choksi further said, adding that the police had also recovered a charred body from a factory situated few meters away from the incident site. The charred body was sent to FSL, Hyderabad which had confirmed that the body belongs to one Mohammed Saeed Dawood, one of the victims.

As per case details, British nationals Shakeel Dawood (36) and his cousin, Mohammed Saeed Dawood (41), were returning in a Tata Sumo from Rajasthan and were on their way towards their ancestral village Lajpur near Navsari, when they were attacked near Wadwasa village on Prantij-Ahmedabad NH-8. While the driver Yousaf Pelegar was killed in the vehicle, the cousins were dragged to a nearby factory and stabbed to death. A third relative Imran Dawood escaped with injuries. One Mohammed Aswat, who was also in the vehicle, is missing since them. Later, Aswat was also declared dead.