2002 Gujarat riots: A special court in Ahmedabad on Thursday (April 20) acquitted all the accused in the Naroda Gam case in which former Gujarat minister and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Maya Kodnani and several other right-wing leaders are among the accused involved in the killing of 11 people from the minority community during the 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Eleven persons were killed in communal violence in Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad city on February 28, 2002, during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning a day before in which 58 passengers, returning from Ayodhya, were killed.
Along with Kodnani, other prominent accused are former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi and Vishwa Hindu Parishad leader Jaydeep Patel. On April 16, the court of principal sessions Judge SK Baxi had fixed April 20 as the date for the verdict in the case and had also directed the accused to remain present in the court.
Notably, all the accused in the case are currently out on bail. Out of the total 86 accused in the case, 18 died in the intervening period. Around 182 prosecution witnesses were examined during the trial. Apart from rioting and murder, Kodnani, 67, has also been charged with criminal conspiracy and attempted murder in the Naroda Gam case.
It is pertinent to note that Union Home Minister Amit Shah had also appeared as a defence witness for Kodnani in September 2017.
Know more about the case: WHAT HAPPENED ON FEB 28 |
Around eleven persons were killed in communal violence in Naroda Gam area of Ahmedabad city on February 28, 2002, during a bandh called to protest the Godhra train burning a day before in which 58 passengers, mostly Karsevaks returning from Ayodhya, were killed. The prosecution and defence examined 187 and 57 witnesses, respectively, during the trial that started in 2010 and went on for nearly 13 years with six judges successively presiding over the case, said special prosecutor Suresh Shah.
Maya Kodnani had requested the court to summon him to prove her alibi that she was present in the Gujarat Assembly and later at the Sola Civil Hospital and not at Naroda Gam where the massacre took place. Among the evidence produced by the prosecution is the video of a sting operation carried out by journalist Ashish Khetan as well as call details of Kodnani, Bajrangi and others during the relevant period.
When the trial started, SH Vora was the presiding judge. He was elevated to the Gujarat High Court. His successors, Jyotsna Yagnik, KK Bhatt and PB Desai, retired during the trial. Special judge MK Dave who came next was transferred, prosecutor Shah said.
"The trial (deposition of witnesses) concluded around four years ago. Arguments of the prosecution concluded and the defence was making its arguments when then special judge PB Desai retired. So arguments started afresh before judge Dave and later judge Baxi which delayed the proceedings," he said.
Charges against accused:
The accused are facing charges under Indian Penal Code sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 143 (unlawful assembly), 147 (rioting), 148 (rioting armed with deadly weapons), 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), and 153 (provocation for riots), among others. The maximum punishment for these crimes is death.
Kodnani, who was a minister in the Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government, was convicted and sentenced to 28 years in jail in the Naroda Patiya riot case where 97 people were massacred. She was later discharged by the Gujarat High Court. In the present case, she has been charged with criminal conspiracy besides rioting, murder and attempted murder.
The massacre at Naroda Gam was one of the nine major 2002 communal riots cases investigated by the SIT and heard by special courts.
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