The official estimates of the death toll given to the parliament on May 11, 2005 by the Manmohan Singh government and based on Gujarat government statistics, are 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus dead, 223 missing and 2,548 injured. The report placed the number of riot widows at 919 and 606 children were declared orphaned. There are human rights groups which believed that the death tolls were higher, in the upwards of 1000 and up to 2000.The United States Congressional Research Service also places the figure at "up to 2000, mostly Muslim." Tens of thousands were displaced from their homes because of the violence. Only after the violence subsided in the month of May did a significant fraction of the displaced returned to the affected regions.

It is reported that police were rather supporting or looked the other way when these attacks were going on. Perhaps the majority of Hindus in police forces were sympathetic to the Hindu sentiment which was further reinforced by the Godhara incident and directions from some ministers; as a result they failed in their duty to maintain law and order impartially.

Armed forces were called belatedly to control the situation and curfew was clamped in many areas. Even after a month and a half many areas are under curfew and civic life is paralyzed, people earning their bread by daily work are in pitiable condition. But, it seems that certain organized groups are moving from one area to another and keeping the fires of violence burning, government seems to take no steps against such groups or their leaders who are openly propagating communal hatred and advocating violence. On the contrary it seems to be endorsing the violence by saying that it is the reaction or retaliation (on innocent people! Because they belonged to the Muslim community some of whose members were responsible for the Godhara episode?) of the majority due to the Godhara carnage.