Naroda riots: Ex-BJP minister Maya Kodnani among 32 convicted

Kodnani, a three-time MLA from Naroda area, who was considered to be close to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, and Bajrangi were held guilty under sections 120 (B) (criminal conspiracy), 302 (murder) and 307 (attempt to murder) of IPC in the post-Godhra riots case.

Additional principal judge Jyotsna Yagnik in her verdict acquitted 29 other accused. The court, which heard arguments on the quantum of sentence, will decide on the punishment on August 31.

"The maximum punishment for criminal conspiracy and murder can be death sentence," advocate Shamshad Pathan, representing the victims, said.

One of the accused, Suresh alias alias Richard Chara was also convicted for rape. The court also convicted several of the accused on charges of rioting, arson, unlawful assembly and causing hurt with weapons.

The massacre had taken place a day after the Godhra train burning incident of February 27, 2002.

On February 28, 2002 when a bandh call was given by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP), a large crowd gathered in the Naroda Patiya area and attacked people belonging to minority community that resulted in the death of 97 people while 33 others were injured in the violence.

Kodnani was arrested in March 2009 when she was the minister and had to resign from the post. She became an MLA for the first time in 1998 and won elections twice later from that constituency. She was made Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the Modi government in 2007.

BJP state leadership had wasted no time taking her into the Cabinet, widely believed to be at the behest of L K Advani. She was the first Sindhi leader to become a minister in Gujarat since the state was founded in 1960. (More)