Ahmedabad, Jan 30: One of the key accused in the 2002 Godhra train carnage, who was absconding from the past 16 years, was held on Tuesday. Yakub Pataliya, 63, was arrested by a team of Godhra's B Division Police, after they were tipped off about his presence in the town.

Pataliya's custody was granted to the Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is probing the train-burning incident that led to the death of 59 kar sevaks and left more than 100 injured.

Two brothers of Pataliya - Kadir and Ayub - were also charged as the prime accused in the case. The trio were allegedly part of the mob which torched the coaches of Sabarmati Express near Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002. While Ayub is serving life imprisonment, Kadir died under custody in 2015.

In the FIR registered into the incident in September 2002, Pataliya was named as an accused. As per the chargesheet, the police had levelled charges against him under sections 307 (attempt to murder), 143 and 149 (unlawful assembly), 147 and 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 332 and 352 (causing hurt to deter public servant from his duty), 153 A (causing enmity among members of different religious groups), among others as well as certain sections of the Railways Act.

The train carnage is considered to be the trigger to the state-wide communal riots in Gujarat, which led to the death of at least 2,000 people, and led to the displacement of more than 10,000.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 30, 2018 05:51 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).