Naroda Patiya: Kodnani Acquitted, Babu Bajrangi’s Sentence Reduced
In 2012, a trial court had described Kodnani as the “kingpin” of the Naroda Patiya riots.
The Gujarat High Court on Friday, 20 April, acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and upheld the conviction of ex-Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case, in which 97 Muslims were killed by a mob of around 5,000 people.
A bench comprising of Justices Harsha Devani and AS Supehiya, acquitted Kodnani on the basis of inconsistent statements of the 11 witnesses who claim to have seen her during the riots.
In 2012, a trial court had described Kodnani as the "kingpin" of the Naroda Patiya riots, which was one of the worst episodes of the post-Godhra communal violence, but the high court said that there no police witnesses of Kodnani’s presence during the riots. Further, the court noted that none of the 11 witnesses named her, concluding that "no criminal conspiracy could be established".
The Indian Express quoted the written submission of the SIT which had stated that at around 9:30 am “Dr Maya Kodnani, the MLA of the said area, after completing the mourn meeting in the Vidhan Sabha came near Noorani Masjid and as per the evidence on record she made some speech and said, “Kill Muslims, destroy the property of Muslims.”
Public prosecutor, Prashant Desai said, “The court said that what Babu Bajrangi's crime is not any more than the other convicts. Hence, there shouldn't be a difference inthe quantum of punishment.”
The trial court had convicted a total of 32 people, of which one has died.
The rioting took place on 28 February 2002, in the Naroda Patiaya area of Ahmedabad, where a mob killed 97 people, most of them from a minority community.
The massacre took place a day after the torching of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra, which had triggered state-wide riots.
(With inputs from PTI)
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