India's highest court on Friday ordered speedy trials of key suspects in 2002 unrest between Hindus and Muslims that killed more than 1,000 people, officials said. The Supreme Court set up six fast-track courts after a special investigation team completed a probe into the violence in the western state of Gujarat, the worst religious rioting in India in recent years. Key politicians and bureaucrats in the state could be among the defendants. During the seven years since the unrest, few have been prosecuted, prompting the Supreme Court intervention. Trials are expected to begin within a month. The state government, which was then and is still controlled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, has repeatedly been accused of not doing enough to stop the violence, and of even stoking it. Gujarat officials deny it. The BJP is a key contender in ongoing national elections. In February and March 2002, groups of Hindus rampaged through Muslim neighborhoods, towns and villages in Gujarat. The unrest, sparked by a Muslim arson attack on train carriage that killed 60 Hindus, lasted several weeks. Most of those killed were Muslims. The fast track courts will work daily on just the riot-related cases. India's legal system is so overburdened that trials often run for decades. Teesta Setalvad, the founder of Citizens for Justice and Peace, a private group working with riot victims, said she expects the trial of defendants, including some key state politicians, police officers and bureaucrats, to be completed within 18 months. R.K. Raghavan, the head of the investigation team, said he was “delighted” at the Supreme Court decision, which he said reflected its confidence in the investigators. Last week, the Supreme Court ordered a probe within three months into accusations Narendra Modi, the Gujarat's top elected official, abetted the violence. In March, Maya Kodnani, a minister in the state cabinet, surrendered to authorities after a special investigating team accused her of leading mobs that attacked Muslims during the religious riots. She has denied the allegations against her. The Supreme Court has in the past criticized the state's allegedly lenient handling of Hindus accused of killing Muslims.
