Naroda Patiya case: Gujarat HC gives 10 years jail term to 3 accused, fine also imposed

Ahmedabad:

The Gujarat High Court today awarded 10 years jail term to 3 convicts of 2002 Naroda Patiya Massacre case.

The court had earlier reserved its verdict on the quantum of punishment to Rajkumar Chaumal, P J Rajput and Umesh Bharwad.

Apart from sentencing 10 years jail term to the trio the court also imposed a cost of Rs 1000 on each one of them.

They were earlier acquitted by the special SIT court in 2012 but the High Court reversed the judgment and convicted them of arson and being part of a violent mob that killed 97 Muslims during the Gujarat riots on February 28, 2002 a day after burning of a coach of the Sabarmati Express in Godhara killing over 50 kar-sevaks returning from Ayodhya.

The division bench of Justice Harsha Devani and Justice A S Supehia pronounced the verdict today. The same court had earlier upheld the acquittals of 29 others in the case.

In its verdict in April this year on the appeals against the 2012 SIT (trial) court verdict the High Court had acquitted former minister and senior BJP leader Maya Kodnani.

DeshGujarat