A Special Operations Group team has nabbed an accused of the 2002 Gulberg Society massacre case, who has been on run after jumping parole last month, from Rajasthan while search is on to trace another accused, an officer said today.
"Jitendra Nath (46) was nabbed from Mohammadpura village in Sawai Madhopur district of Rajasthan yesterday and brought to city today," said police inspector of SOG (Crime Branch) B D Jadeja.
Nath was supposed to report at Sabarmati Central Prison here on April 8 as his extended parole was expiring on that date.
"Nath is one of the accused in the Gulberg case. He was in jail ever since his arrest in 2009. He was recently released on parole. However, he disappeared and did not report back to the jail on April 8, which was the last day of his parole," said Jadeja.
The officer said the SOG team had specific inputs and accordingly kept watch in Nath's native village.
"Nath will be sent back to jail after completion of some formalities," added Jadeja.
Incidentally, Nath was not the only one on radar of police during the operation. The SOG was also in search of Kailash Dhobi, another accused in the Gulberg case, who too had jumped parole earlier this year.
Dhobi was supposed to surrender before jail authorities here on January 29, as his plea for another extension was turned down by the High Court.
"Dhobi and Nath were known to each other as they hailed from same village. Our main focus was to nab Dhobi, who is at large since long. However, we then come to know about Nath's presence in that village and nabbed him. Our efforts are still on to nab Dhobi," said Jadeja.
The Gulberg Society case is one of the nine cases of the 2002 Gujarat riots which is being probed by the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT).
As many as 69 persons, including ex-MP Ehsan Jafri, lost their lives in Gulberg Society in the city on February 28, 2002 during the Post-Godhra riots.
The incident had taken place a day after S-6 coach of Sabarmati express was burnt near Godhra train station, where in 58 karsevaks were killed.
The trial in the case lasted for around six years during which around 338 witnesses gave their testimonies. The trial court has completed the final hearing in the case in September last year but the verdict is yet to be pronounced.
There are 66 accused named by the SIT in the case and seven of them, excluding Nath and Dhobi, are behind bars at present while others are out on bail.
