Ahmedabad: Former BJP Minister Maya Kodnani was acquitted by the Gujarat High Court in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case on Friday. The Court, however, upheld the life sentence of Babu Bajrangi, the Bajrang Dal leader, who was co-accused in the case.
Maya Kodnani was sentenced to 28 years of imprisonment in the aftermath of the Godhra riot case in which 97 Muslims were killed.
The verdict was announced by a division bench of the High Court comprising justice Harsha Devani and justice A. S. Supehiya.
In February 2002, the S-6 coach of Sabarmati Express was set on fire at the Godhra railway station in which around 58 people were killed. A day later, 97 people were killed by rioters in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Patiya area during the bandh called by Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal.