Railway coach set on fire to enact Godhra incident for documentary on PM

Vadodara: An unused railway coach was on Sunday set on fire during the enactment of the 2002 Godhra train burning incident for a documentary on Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The coach, which a Western Railway official called a "mock drill bogie", was set on fire despite instructions to the documentary film crew that it be returned after shooting in the same condition as it was provided.

"The coach provided for the documentary was an unutilised mock drill bogie. It was given to the crew with the stipulation it would be returned in the same condition that it was given. We have charged money for its use," Vadodara Railway Division spokesperson Khemraj Meena said.

The Godhra train burning scene was shot at Western Railway's Pratapnagar station and a set was built for it near the Coach Care Centre there, said the documentary's director Umesh Shukla.

The producers of the documentary had been given four-day permission for shooting on the broad and narrow gauge routes in Pratapnagar and Vishwamitri stations, Meena said.

Jayraj Gadhvi, supervising executive of the shoot in Gujarat, said the coach was used to shoot the train burning scene from outside.

The enactment of the scenes that took place inside the coach during the 2002 Godhra incident will be shot at a set constructed for the purpose in Mumbai, Gandhvi added.

Fifty-nine ''karsevaks'' were killed in the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002, triggering the worst communal riots in the history of Gujarat in which over 1,000 people were killed.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi was Gujarat chief minister at that time.