Photo shows public prosecutor, not man convicted for 2002 India train fire

The false posts surfaced days before the anniversary of the train fire that set off anti-Muslim riots in which more than 1,000 people were killed.

On February 27, 2002, a fire on the Sabarmati Express train coach in western Gujarat state killed 59 Hindu pilgrims. Hindus in the state blamed the blaze on Muslim vendors at Godhra station, and furious mobs seeking revenge rampaged through Muslim neighbourhoods in several cities.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Gujarat's chief minister at the time, was accused of turning a blind eye to the violence. He was cleared of any wrongdoing by a Supreme Court-ordered investigation.

Thirty-one people were convicted in 2011 of causing the train blaze. At the time a total of 94 people, all Muslims, stood trial for the incident.

One post on social media platform X shared Kodekar's picture on February 16, 2024 with a caption that said: "This is rafiq hussain bhathuk, a muslim leader and owner of two petrol pumps in Godhra. *He orchestrated the arrangement of petrol to set the Sabarmati Express on fire.*"

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Screenshot of the false post taken on March 6, 2024

According to a report from the Hindustan Times newspaper, Rafiq Hussain Bhatuk was arrested in February 2021 after 19 years in hiding.

Similar posts that falsely claimed to show a picture of Bhatuk were also shared on Facebook here and here.

Public prosecutor

A reverse image search on Google, followed by keyword searches, found the picture in the posts corresponds to a video published by Indian news agency ANI on YouTube on July 3, 2022 (archive link).

The video's 11-second mark clearly identifies the man as "RC Kodekar, Special Public Prosecutor." Below is a screenshot with his name highlighted:

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Screenshot of the video published by ANI

In the video, Kodekar could be seen saying Rafiq Hussain Bhatuk was convicted for causing the train fire.

"[Bhatuk] has been given life imprisonment under conspiracy to murder by the Godhra Sessions Court," the public prosecutor said in Hindi.

A further reverse search found the picture in the false posts was taken from a report published on X by ANI on July 3, 2022. The report also clearly identified the man in the picture as Kodekar (archived link).

Below is a screenshot comparison between the picture in the false posts (left) and the photo published by ANI in 2022 with Kodekar's name highlighted (right):

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Screenshot comparison between one false post (left) and the ANI report on X (right)

Kodekar told AFP on February 22 he had filed a complaint against some social media users for misusing his picture.

"My picture is being shared with a false claim. I was the chief prosecutor of that case but my picture is being shared as an accused," he said.

After the false posts surfaced online, ANI on February 16 wrote under its original report on X: "This is to clarify that the picture in this earlier tweet is of RC Kodekar, Special Public Prosecutor NOT criminal Rafiq Bhatuk" (archived link).

AFP has repeatedly debunked misinformation swirling around sectarian violence in India here, here, here and here.

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