Bihar government has decided to conduct a speedy trial against the accused in the Bhagalpur riots case.
To begin with, the trial of Kameshwar Yadav would be conducted following the court charges against him.
Yadav is one of the prime accused in one of 27 cases recently reopened for fresh investigation into the Bhagalpur riots.
In the month-long Bhagalpur riots in 1989, over 1,000 Muslims were killed .
"The court will hold a speedy trial of cases against Kameshwar Yadav from February 7 to 16 and a similar trial would be conducted against other accused in the riots cases," Bihar police ADG Abhyanand told rediff.com on Saturday.
"Police headquarters has directed Bhagalpur SP to collect all evidence against him before the trial starts," Abhyanand said.
Four days ago, charges were framed against Kameshwar Yadav in the Bhagalpur Additional District and Sessions Court on the basis of the chargesheet the police had submitted after reinvestigating the case.
The police had in in the past closed the case against Yadav citing lack of evidence. A case had been lodged against him in Tatrapur police station in 1990.
"He was charged with killing a Muslim shop owner with the help of associates during the riots. After the case was reopened and reinvestigated by the police, charges were framed against Yadav by the court under Sections 302/201 and 364/149 of the IPC, besides Section 27 of the Arms Act," M Salahuddin Khan, senior lawyer at the Patna high court, who was appointed special public prosecutor by the state government in the reopened cases, said.
Yadav's case was one of the 27 cases of the Bhagalpur riots reopened for fresh investigation last year following Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's order of a fresh probe into the riots cases.
Nitish's decision kindled the hopes of many a victim whose dream of getting justice had dimmed in the last 18 years.
A commission, headed by Justice (retd) N N Singh was set up to reinvestigate the riots cases that were closed by police for lack of evidence.
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