NEW DELHI, Oct. 5 (Xinhua) -- An Indian court Thursday rejected Zakia Jafri's petition challenging a clean chit by a special investigation team (SIT) to the state's top politicians including then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and bureaucrats in the infamous 2002 Gujarat riots.
"The Gujarat high court today rejected Zakia Jafri's plea challenging lower court order upholding SIT's clean chit to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in the 2002 riots," an official said. "The court however said she can move the Supreme Court or higher forums against today's ruling."
Zakia Jafri is the widow of Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress party lawmaker in Gujarat, who was among 68 people killed when a mob set his house in Gulberg Society on fire on Feb. 28, 2002 during the riots.
Modi, who is currently the prime minister of India, was the chief minister of Gujarat.
The 79-year-old Zakia and Citizen for Justice and Peace, a non-governmental organization headed by rights activist Teesta Setalvad, had filed the criminal review petition against lower court's order which upheld the closure report presented by SIT.
The petition accused Modi and 59 others of being party to "the larger criminal conspiracy" behind the Gujarat riots.
More than 1,000 Muslims were killed and thousands displaced across Gujarat in 2002 during a series of riots which victims say was a pogrom.
Modi is blamed for doing little to stop religious riots at that time. However, he always denied any wrongdoing during riots.
The riots were considered to be the worst since Indian independence triggered after a train fire at Godhra killed 58 Hindu pilgrims. Muslim were blamed for setting up the train coach on fire and following it Hindu mobs in revenge rampaged the Muslim areas in towns and villages of Gujarat for three days.
