Godhra train burning: Absconding life convict nabbed in Pune

A 55-year-old life convict in the Godhra train carnage case of 2002, who had jumped parole and absconded, has been arrested in Maharashtra's Pune district in a theft case, police said on 3 January, Monday.

The Pune rural police on 22 January arrested Salim Jarda, who was among the 31 persons sentenced to life imprisonment in the Godhra train carnage case, they said.

Jarda stepped out of a prison in Gujarat on a seven-day parole on 17 September 2024 and later absconded.

"On 22 January, we arrested him and his gang members in a theft case, who used to carry out thefts in rural parts of Pune. During the investigation, his connection to the Godhra train carnage case was revealed," Alephata police station's inspector Dinesh Tayde said.

During the investigation, three cases of thefts allegedly executed by Jarda came to light, he said.

"He used to come from Godhra in Gujarat to Pune district with his gang and carry out the thefts," the official added.

Jarda and others had been convicted for allegedly setting the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express ablaze in Godhra on 27 February 2002, which killed 59 persons.