In one of the most sensational cases of post-Godhra violence in Ahmedabad, Additional Sessions Judge H.B. Antani today sentenced to life imprisonment one Dinesh for murdering Mumtaz Bano alias Geeta, and causing life-threatening injuries to her husband Shabban Sheikh in Guptanagar area of the city on March 24, 2002. Mumtaz Bano was born a Hindu and her maiden name was Geeta. She converted to Islam after marrying Sheikh, alias Munna. The two were attacked by a mob, stripped and stabbed in broad daylight. While Mumtaz Bano died, Sheikh was seriously injured. It was believed that they were targeted only because the woman had married a Muslim.While convicting Dinesh alias Tallo Udaysinh Thakore, the court acquitted five others, namely Kalu Mulaji Saragda, Pravin Solanki, Harish Chandra Chauhan, Jagdish Thakore and Amit Rathod. All 17 witnesses in the case turned hostile, but what nailed Dinesh was a forensic report on the blood stains on the gupti recovered from him matched with Sheikh’s blood. The court held that this report, along with the evidence, was enough to convict Dinesh on the charge of murder of Mumtaz Bano as well.
