Indian court dismisses petition againt BJP PM candidate Modi

An Indian court Thursday dismissed a petition by a killed Congress leader's widow challenging a probe closure report clearing Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi and 58 others of a case relating to a 2002 communal riot. This would be a major relief for Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi. However, the petitioners, Zakia Jafri and her supporters, said they would challenge it before a higher court. The petition challenging the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT)'s closure report, was filed by Jafri, the widow of slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri who was among the 69 people killed in the Gulbarg Society massacre in Ahmadabad, state capital of Gurajat, on Feb. 28, 2002 during a bloody communal riot. In her petition, Jafri said the SIT had shielded Modi and others by discarding the statements of police officers and other available evidence. Modi is campaigning across the country for the general election next year