Hindus 'guilty of Muslim deaths' - BBC

The men were found guilty of killing and burying 116 Muslims in Bhagalpur in the northern state of Bihar in 1989. More than 1,000 people died in the riots, which came after Hindus marched at the flashpoint holy site of Ayodhya. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar promised justice to Bhagalpur victims when he came to power in 2005. Acquittals The court in Bhagalpur gave its verdicts in relation to rioting in the village of Logai on 27 October, 1989. It reserved sentencing until 27 June. Two of those found guilty were policemen. One person convicted is still being sought by police. Twenty four people were charged in the case. Six have since died and four are still on the run. Rioters in Logai were found to have killed Muslims and then buried their bodies in a field, before planting vegetables to hide the graves. Rioting in Bhagalpur went on for several weeks and are some of the most infamous cases of anti-Muslim violence in Indian history. Over the years courts in Bihar have heard 152 cases relating to the killings, acquitting the accused in 119 of them. Many of those convicted in the other 32 cases were given life sentences. Most have appealed. Ayodhya has been at the centre of much of India's religious violence over the years. When Hindu hardliners destroyed the Babri mosque in the northern town in 1992, rioting around the country claimed an estimated 2,000 lives. E-mail this to a friend Printable version AYODHYA FLASHPOINT Eyewitness Mark Tully recalls how a Hindu mob destroyed the mosque Uproar over Ayodhya report History of the dispute On this day: Mosque destroyed Visual guide to disputed site RELATED BBC LINKS Religion and ethics TOP SOUTH ASIA STORIES Nato's Afghan death toll mounts Dalit murders death penalty dropped Sri Lanka cabinet meets in north MOST POPULAR STORIES NOW MOST SHARED MOST READ Tourists flock to 'Jesus's tomb' in Kashmir Most popular now, in detail MOST SHARED MOST READ BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News BBC News Most popular now, in detail FEATURES, VIEWS, ANALYSIS Ghost town Has China's housing bubble burst? The guerilla plant How the world's oldest clove tree defied an empire Walking away Why Royal Ballet principal Sergei Polunin quit Government wins Commons VAT votes "; liveStatsFacts[1]="The most read story in Africa is: Saudi 'reprieve' in sorcery case "; liveStatsFacts[2]="The most read story in Europe is: Mona Lisa 'had high cholesterol' "; liveStatsFacts[3]="The most read story in North America is: Town lines 'make road dangerous' "; liveStatsFacts[4]="The most read story in Australasia is: In pictures: New 9/11 photos released "; liveStatsFacts[5]="The most shared story right now is: Ban for owner of bust company "; liveStatsFacts[6]=" Traffic to this site is currently 32% below normal "; liveStatsFacts[7]=" 17,029 pages were read in the last minute. "; liveStatsFacts[8]=" 56,514 people are reading stories on the site right now. "; //document.write(' ' + liveStatsFacts[Math.floor(Math.random()*liveStatsFacts.length)] + ' '); document.write(' Most Popular Now ' + liveStatsFacts[Math.floor(Math.random()*liveStatsFacts.length)] + '

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