The Supreme Court today rejected the plea for grant of bail to Moulvi Hussaen Ibrahim Umarji, a key accused in the case pertaining to the burning of Sabarmati Express at Godhra in Gujarat on February 27, 2002, in which 59 persons were roasted alive. A bench comprising Justice S. Rajendra Babu, Justice Arun Kumar and Justice G.P. Mathur rejected the bail plea and upheld the Gujarat High Court order refusing to grant bail to him. Umarji was arrested by Gujarat police under offences committed under Indian Penal Code (IPC) but later invoked the stringent POTA against him. Communal riots had engulfed several parts of the state immediately after the news about burning of the train, which was reportedly carrying kar sevaks from Ayodhya, spread.
