Naroda Gam massacre case: Discard Amit Shah’s statement defending Maya Kodnani, SIT tells court
Ahmedabad, Aug 02: IN the trial of the Naroda Gam massacre case of the 2002 post-Godhra riots, the Supreme Court appointed-Special Investigation Team (SIT) on Wednesday argued before a special court that the deposition of BJP president Amit Shah “should be discarded” as it was done merely to “support” key accused former BJP minister Maya Kodnani.
Special Public Prosecutor Gaurang Vyas, while reading out the statement recorded by Shah in the court in September 2017, said that “Amit Shah recorded the statement 15 years after the incident which is not relevant now. It was done only to support Maya Kodnani as both were MLAs back then.”
Vyas argued that “Amit Shah’s presence at Sola Civil hospital is also doubtful as despite being an MLA (back in 2002) nobody, even the accused like Babu Bajrangi, Jaideep Patel ever mentioned his presence.”
Sola civil hospital is the place where the bodies of karsewaks had been brought from Godhra.
In her defence, Maya Kodnani has said that she was at this hospital with Amit Shah when riots broke out in Naroda Gam area on February 28, 2002. She had got summons issued to Shah for his deposition. Shah appeared in court and recorded his statement that he saw Maya Kodnani.
Shah had said that he saw Kodnani first at Vidhan Sabha at 8.30 am. From Vidhan Sabha he left for Sola civil hospital where angry relatives of the Godhra train carnage had gathered to collect the bodies.
In his statement, Shah had said: “Since slogans were being shouted against the incident and there was chaos, a police team escorted me and Mayaben out of the hospital and took us to a police jeep since my vehicle was parked a little far. I can’t say exactly but it was around 11 am to 11.15 am. I was dropped near Gota chowkdi where I got into my own vehicle.”
Vyas argued that Shah’s presence at the hospital never came into the case records until two of Kodnani’s defence witnesses Natubhai Vaghela and Bharat Kantibhai Patel deposed last year.
Last year, the accused including Kodnani had brought more than 50 persons in their defence for the first time.
The SIT will continue examining the deposition of two more defence witnesses of Kodnani. Meanwhile, lawyer Shamshad Pathan sought permission from the court for arguing on behalf of the victims. The court asked him to file an application. It will be heard on Friday.
In the Naroda Gam case, 82 accused are facing trial including former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi who are accused of killing 11 Muslims.
In Naroda Gam, the SIT chargesheet states, Kodnani was seen by about 14 eyewitnesses between 9am and 10.30 am on February 28, 2002, where she briefly addressed the mob, allegedly asking them to kill Muslims. Apart from oral evidence, the SIT also relied on the electronic evidence in the form of mobile call detail records (CDRs) that showed her presence in the locality.
Kodnani maintains she never went to the spot. She has been booked for conspiracy, murder, illegal assembly, inciting communal hatred among other charges.
According to the SIT, Kodnani attended the Gujarat Assembly proceedings which was suspended after paying condolences to the victims of the train burning incident. She left the Assembly around 8.40 am and reached Naroda Gam and then proceeded to Naroda Patiya. The SIT claims that her arrival there was part of the same conspiracy which led to the killing of Muslims in Naroda Patiya too. Since there were different set of mobs, two separate FIRs were filed by Naroda police.
Kodnani was acquitted in the Naroda Patiya massacre by the Gujarat High Court in April this year.
Courtesy: indianexpress.com
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Cong cites Kangana's purported remarks to accuse BJP of wanting to bring back repealed farm laws
New Delhi, Sep 24: The Congress on Tuesday cited BJP MP Kangana Ranaut's purported remarks on farm laws to allege that the ruling party was making efforts to bring back the three laws that were repealed in 2021, and asserted that Haryana will give a befitting reply to it.
The Congress shared on X an undated video of Ranaut in which she is purportedly saying in Hindi, "Farm laws that have been repealed should be brought back. I think this may get controversial. The laws in farmers' interest be brought back. Farmers should themselves demand this (to bring farm laws back) so that there is no hindrance to their prosperity.
"Farmers are a pillar of strength in India's progress. Only in some states, they had objected to farm laws. I appeal with folded hands that farm laws should be brought back in the interest of farmers."
In a post in Hindi along with the video, the Congress said, "The three black laws imposed on farmers should be brought back: BJP MP Kangana Ranaut has said this. More than 750 farmers of the country were martyred, only then did the Modi government wake up and these black laws were withdrawn."
Now BJP MPs are planning to bring back these laws, the Congress alleged.
"The Congress is with the farmers. These black laws will never return, no matter how hard Narendra Modi and his MPs try," the opposition party said on X.
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate also shared the video of Ranaut on X and said, "'All three farm laws should be brought back': BJP MP Kangana Ranaut. More than 750 farmers were martyred while protesting against the three black farmer laws. Efforts are being made to bring them back."
"We will never let that happen. Haryana will answer first," she said in an apparent reference to the assembly polls in Haryana.
Congress' media and publicity department head Pawan Khera also shared the video on X and said it was the BJP's "real thinking".
"How many times will you deceive the farmers, you two-faced people?" Khera said in a post in Hindi.
The three laws -- Farmer's Produce Trade and Commerce (Promotion and Facilitation) Act; The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement of Price Assurance and Farm Services Act; and The Essential Commodities (Amendment) Act -- were repealed in November 2021.
The farmers' protest started at the fag-end of November 2020 and ended after Parliament repealed the three laws. The legislations came into force in June 2020 and were repealed in November 2021.
“तीनों किसान क़ानून वापस लाये जाने चाहिए” : BJP MP कंगना रनौत
— Supriya Shrinate (@SupriyaShrinate) September 24, 2024
जिन तीन काले किसान विरोधी क़ानूनों की मुख़ालिफ़त करते 750 से ज़्यादा किसान शहीद हो गए
उनको दोबारा से लाने की कोशिश की जा रही है. हम ऐसा कभी नहीं होने देंगे
सबसे पहला जवाब हरियाणा देगा pic.twitter.com/kRAkRuE2cc
