"Shaukat alias Bhano Farooq Patadia (33) complained of chest pain this afternoon and was rushed to the Sayajirao Gaekwad hospital. He died of heart attack," Jail Superintendent, Vadodara Central Jail, R F Sangada said.
He was awarded life sentence in March 2011 by designated judge P R Patel. His appeal, with other 31 convicts, against the judgement was pending in the Gujarat High Court.
Shaukat was arrested on August 12, 2003 by Gujarat police and charged with offences under different sections of IPC including 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder) and 120b (criminal conspiracy).
In the wee hours of February 27, 2002, a violent mob attacked Sabarmati Express train which resulted in the death of 59 people, mostly karsevaks who were returning from Ayodhya, and triggered communal violence across Gujarat that claimed the lives of over 1200 Muslims.
Eleven people have been sentenced to death and 20 others, including Shaukat, given life imprisonment by a trial court in the case.