A special court in Ahmedabad has convicted 31 accused of criminal conspiracy and acquitted 63 in the 2002 Godhra train burning case. The hearing on the quantum of punishment in the case will take place on Friday. The prime accused in the case Maulana Umarji has been acquitted. Fifty-nine people, mostly Kar Sewaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed in the incident. The incident had triggered horrendous communal riots in the state in which over 1200 people, mostly from the minority community, were killed and riots had lasted a few months. The verdict was pronounced at Ahmedabad's Sabarmati Central Jail, where the trial was held. Designated Judge PR Patel, who completed hearing the arguments of the prosecution and the defense in September last year, pronounced the judgment in the sensitive case on Tuesday. Trial in the case began in June 2009 with the framing of the charges against the accused, who have been in Sabarmati jail since their arrest in 2002. All the accused in the case have been charged with criminal conspiracy and murder and rioting. Initially, the accused were charged under anti-terror draconian law POTA but in 2005 central government appointed POTA review committee had recommended withdrawal of POTA on the ground of lack of adequate evidence against the accused. The Gujarat High Court and also the Supreme Court had upheld the review committees recommendation of dropping of POTA on the accused. A mob of around 1,000 people had targeted the S-6 coach of the Sabarmati Express at the Godhra station in Gujarat in February 2002.