Chargesheet against Maya, others in Naroda Gam riot case

The Supreme Court-constituted Special Investigation Team, probing certain Gujarat riot cases afresh, today filed a chargesheet in Naroda Gam case in which BJP leader and former state minister Maya Kodnani is one of the prime accused.     

"We have submitted a chargesheet against the accused in a local court here. The charges have been framed under IPC Sections 120 (B) for criminal conspiracy, 302 for murder, 307 for attempt to murder, 395 and 397 for loot and 143 to 147 for rioting," a senior official in the SIT told PTI.     

The chargesheet was filed in the court of metropolitan magistrate G M Patel.He said all the accused including Kodnani and VHP leader Jaidip Patel were present in the court when chargesheet was filed.     

According to SIT sources, chargesheet has been filed against four accused Maya Kodnani, Jaidip Patel, suspended police officer V S Gohil and one Pankaj Parikh in the case.The chargesheet said Maya and Patel had a led a mob during the 2002 riots which killed 11 people.Kodnani and Patel are behind bars while V S Gohil, who was a police inspector of Naroda in 2002, and Parikh are out on bail.

Kodanani, apart from being accused in Naroda Gam case, is also a prime accused in the case of Naroda Patia massacre in which over 90 people were killed.     

A separate chargesheet for Naroda Patia massacre will be filed by SIT in a few days, said the agency sources.Earlier, Kodanani and Patel's anticipatory bails were granted by the sessions court but later cancelled by the High Court and they had surrendered before the agency.     

Subsequently, after their remand, they were sent to judicial custody in Sabarmati jail.