Ahmadabad Special court on Friday will enunciate the punishment for the 32 convicts of the 2002 Narodya Patiya Case. The sentencing will include the quantum of punishment for the BJP MLA and ex-minister in the Narendra Modi government Maya Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi.
On Wednesday, the special court judge, Jyotsana Yagnik, convicted 32 of the accused in Narodya Patiya case, which is the biggest carnage after the Godhra riot. Kodani, a three-time MLA from Naroda locality is the first women MLA to be sentenced in the Narodya case. The post Godhra riot on February 28, 2002, saw the killings of 97 people of a minority community by a 5,000 strong mob, of which 32 people were convicted by the court and 29 others were acquitted.
The prosecution had demanded the maximum punishment for all those convicted. Kodani and Babu Bajrangi have been charged under sections 120 B (criminal conspiracy) and 302 (murder) of India Penal Code (IPC).These sections carry a minimum sentence of lifetime imprisonment and the maximum of death punishment.
Meanwhile, the conviction of the BJP MLA has caused a blow to the party and has drawn strong criticism of BJP strong man Narendra Modi. The case was probed by the Special Investigating Team and eight charge sheets were filed in the court on the day of pronouncement. The special trial court had examined as many as 327 witnesses.
