A local court Thursday dismissed a petition filed by a killed Congress leader's widow, challenging the closure report of a Special Investigation Team giving a clean chit to Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and 58 others in a case relating to the 2002 communal riots.
Petitioner Zakia E. Jafri - whose husband and former Congress MP Ehsaan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the post-Godhra incident riots in Gulbarg Society here -- had contended that Modi and others should be tried for their role in the riots conspiracy which had triggered violence across the state.
The Supreme Court-appointed SIT, which investigated Jafri's allegations against Modi and others filed its closure report Feb 8, 2012 saying there was insufficient evidence to prosecute them.
The ruling by Metropolitan Magistrate B.J. Ganatra, upholding the SIT closure report, spells major relief for Modi, the Bharatiya Janata Party's prime ministerial candidate.