Naroda Patiya verdict: Bajrangi, Kodnani among 32 convicted

A special court convicted 32, acquitted 29 in the Naroda Patiya massacre case in which 97 people were killed by a mob in the communal riots that followed the burning of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra. The court has also convicted Maya Kodnani, former Minister in the Modi government and Naroda MLA and ex-VHP leader Babu Bajrangi. Ninety-seven people were massacred in the Naroda Patiya area of Ahmedabad by a violent mob on 28 February 2002, a day after the Godhra train fire. The incident was one of the most horrific instances of violence reported during the 2002 communal riots. The 61 accused in the case include a former Minister in the Narendra Modi government and Naroda MLA, Maya Kodnani, ex-VHP leader Babu Bajrangi, local BJP leaders Bipin Panchal, Kishan Korani, Ashok Sindhi and Raju Chaumal. [caption id=“attachment_434433” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Former VHP leader Babu Bajrangi and former Minister Maya Kodnani, who are accused in the case, during the last hearing. PTI[/caption] The rioting occurred during a bandh called by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) to protest against the torching of Sabarmati Express. A rampaging mob armed with lethal weapons and allegedly led by Kodnani and others had gathered at Naroda Patiya and killed 97 people. Thirty-three others were wounded. The trial began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 accused. However, one of them — Vijay Shetty, died during the trial. A total of 327 people, including, eyewitnesses, victims, doctors, police and government officials, forensic experts and journalists like Ashish Khetan, who conducted a TV sting operation on the accused, were examined by the court. After the incident, 46 persons were arrested by Gujarat police. Twenty-four more persons were rounded up after the probe was handed over to the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) in 2008. However, before the charges could be framed or trial could start, six persons died, while two others — Mohan Nepali and Tejas Pathak — jumped bail and are still absconding. The case was investigated by eight Investigating Officers over the past decade, the latest being Himanshu Shukla of the SIT. All accused have been charged under IPC Sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempt to murder), 323, 324, 325 (causing grievous hurt with deadly weapons) and 367 (kidnapping in order to cause grievous hurt). The case is one of nine probed by the SIT, which also inquired into the Godhra train fire, in which 59 persons, mostly karsevaks, were burnt alive. With inputs from PTI