Ahmedabad: BJP chief Amit Shah, on Monday, stood in the witness box in the Naroda Gam communal riot case as a defence witness for former BJP MLA Maya Kodnani, and deposed that she was not present at the crime scene on February 28, 2002.
The Naroda Gam case, in which 11 persons were killed by a rampaging mob in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning incident, is one of the key 2002 Gujarat communal riot cases that were investigated by the Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT). Maya Kodnani is an accused in the Naroda Gaam case.
In response to questions from both the defence as well as the prosecution counsels, Shah stated that on February 28, 2002, a day after 56 karsevaks were burnt alive in the Sabarmati train at Godhra railway station, Kodnani was present in the state Assembly.
Shah told the court that the former BJP MLA was also present at the Sola Civil Hospital, where bodies of the karsevakswere brought for postmortem.
Shah, however, could not recollect the exact time when he saw Kodnani at the Sola Civil Hospital, but he categorically recalled that police had to rescue him and Kodnani away from the irate mob gathered at the postmortem centre.
Shamshad Pathan, Naroda Gam victims’ counsel, said Shah has told the court that he saw Kodnani at the Assembly, which was adjourned around 8:30am and then against at the hospital at around 11am.
“That is precisely the point that victims have been making. We maintain that after the Assembly session, she visited Naroda Gaam and then she went to Sola Civil Hospital,” Pathan told News18.
Meanwhile, Chetan Shah, an advocate who has represented several accused in the 2002 communal riot cases, said, “Amit Shah has stated during his examination that Mayaben was present at the Assembly and at Sola Civil Hospital as well. He has further stated that the angry mob was getting out of control and the police had to take Shah and Kodnani out of the hospital compound in a jeep. This substantiates Kodnani’s stand in the court.”
Beyond legal implications, Shah’s deposition in the case and deposition as Kodnani’s alibi has a larger political message. With state elections less than three months away, Shah has attempted to send across a message that the party leadership has not forgotten those facing court cases for 2002 communal riots.
After the Naroda Patiya judgment, in which Kodnani was held guilty and awarded 28 years’ imprisonment, the feeling among her supporters was that she was left to fend for herself. If Kodnani is acquitted in the Naroda Gam case, it will strengthen her petition in the Gujarat High Court, where she has challenged the conviction in Naroda Patiya case.
With Shah’s deposition, the procedure of examination and cross-examination of prosecution and defence witnesses in the case has been completed. In all 187 prosecution and 58 defence witnesses have been examined as part of the Naroda Gam trial.
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