Naroda Patiya massacre: 3 convicts get 10 years rigorous imprisonment
New Delhi : The Gujarat High Court on Monday sentenced three convicts in the 2002 Naroda Patiya massacre case to ten years of imprisonment. P J Rajput, Rajkumar Chaumal and Umesh Bharwad were earlier acquitted by a trial court in 2012 but the High Court reversed the judgment and convicted them of arson and being part of a violent mob that killed 96 Muslims in the aftermath of the Sabarmati Express train burning.
The High Court had, however, upheld the acquittals of 29 others in the case.
The Division Bench of Justice Harsha Devani and Justice A S Supehia pronounced the quantum, declining the defence’s request to consider the social status and family hardships of the accused before pronouncing the sentence in the matter.
On April 20, the High Court had acquitted former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and upheld the conviction of former Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi.
Another court hearing the 2002 Naroda Gam riots case, in which Kodnani too is an accused had recently allowed her to call 14 witnesses which also included former BJP president Amit Shah.
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Kharge likens BJP and RSS to poison; says 'poisonous snake should be killed'
Pune, Nov 17: Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday likened the BJP and RSS to "poison" and termed them as "politically most dangerous" in India.
Addressing a rally in Sangli on the penultimate day before the campaigning for the Maharashtra assembly polls concluded, Kharge used the "killing the poisonous snake" analogy in his speech.
"If there is anything which is politically the most dangerous in India is the BJP and RSS. They are like poison. If a snake bites, the person (who is bitten) dies...such a poisonous snake should be killed," said Kharge.
He targeted Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath over the death of 10 newborns in a fire at a medical college.
Without naming Vishal Patil, the Congress rebel and Independent MP from Sangli, Kharge accused him of betraying the party and supporting his sister-in-law, who is contesting as an Independent nominee in the November 20 assembly elections.
In a dig at BJP, Kharge said the number of leaders who campaigned in Maharashtra polls outnumbered the number of candidates of the saffron party in the fray.
"The Prime Minister, Home Minister (Amit Shah) and other leaders have come here. Today, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was also here. No idea what happened to him. In UP, in a fire at a hospital in Jhansi, 10 kids died. Despite that, his rallies in Maharashtra didn't stop," the Congress president said.
Kharge took potshots at PM Narendra Modi for holding rallies for state-level elections.
This is an election for assembly and not to elect the prime minister of the country, he said, adding that his (Modi's) "thirst for authority" is unsatiated.
He slammed Modi for not visiting strife-torn Manipur and instead travelling abroad.
"Modi was here till yesterday. Today he is abroad. Manipur is burning, people are dying, adivasi women are disrespected, and women are raped but Modi never visited Manipur. He is on foreign tours. Today he is also visiting a country. I want to tell him first to look after your home. Make the country strong first. You can go anywhere later," Kharge added.
He questioned the output of Modi's meetings with Donald Trump, Pakistan's prime minister, and presidents of Russia and China from India's perspective.
The 83-year-old leader said his age didn't stop him from supporting the Congress' ideology and meeting people.
"There are leaders who were given positions by the party and benefited. We are not criticising anyone but if the Congress party is giving you everything, you should not betray it," said Kharge in an apparent dig at Vishal Patil.
Kharge said the Congress didn't want any rift in the family of (former chief minister) late Vasantdada Patil, who hailed from Sangli.
"I was told that the Lok Sabha MP from Sangli (Vishal Patil) won with the support of Congress party and Congress party has re-inducted him with respect," he said.
Kharge said he respects the woman candidate who is contesting as an Independent because of her association with Congress.
"I had promised and told Ramesh Chennithala (Maharashtra Congress incharge) that we will offer whatever she wants after the elections. We sent Chennithala and KC Venugopal to talk to them as we did not want any rift in Vasantdada Patil's house and Sangli," he added.
Kharge said his assurances, however, didn't work.
Jayashree Patil, from former chief minister Vasantdada Patil’s family, has entered the fray as an independent candidate from Sangli against Congress nominee Prithviraj Patil.
"It is difficult to wake up those people who are pretending to sleep," Kharge added.
