Verdict on Naroda Patiya riot case deferred to 29 Aug

Ahmedabad: A designated court today deferred to 29 August the pronouncement of judgement in the Naroda Patiya communal riot case of 2002, in which a former BJP Minister is one of the 61 accused. Special Judge Jyotsna Yagnik, who had earlier given a tentative date of today for delivering the much-awaited judgement put off the verdict by two months without assigning any reason. Naroda Patiya, a locality in the city, saw one of the worst riots in the wake of Sabarmati Express burning incident near Godhra. Ninety-seven members of a minority community were massacred in the area by a violent mob on 28 February 2002, a day after the Godhra train fire. [caption id=“attachment_362788” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Naroda MLA Maya Kodnani and former VHP leader Babu Bajrangi, both accused in the Naroda Patiya massacre case, arrive at a court in Ahmedabad today. PTI”]  [/caption] The 61 accused in the case include former Minister in 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. 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. PTI