All accused acquitted in Naroda Gam massacre case in which 11 Muslims were killed

Ahmedabad: More than two decades after 11 Muslim community members were killed in the post-Godhra riots in Ahmedabad’s Naroda Gam, a special court here on Thursday acquitted all the 67 accused in the case, including former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and ex-Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi.
The Ahmedabad-based court of S K Baxi, special judge for Special Investigation Team (SIT) cases, acquitted all the accused in one of the worst massacres witnessed during the state-wide riots triggered by the Sabarmati train carnage on February 27, 2002.
The Naroda Gam case was probed by a Supreme Court-appointed SIT.
A detailed court order was awaited.
Soon after the brief verdict was announced, some of the accused raised slogans of ‘Jai Shri Ram’ and ‘Bharat Mata Ki Jai’ outside the court.
Those acquitted include former Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister in the Gujarat government Kodnani (67), former VHP leader Jaydeep Patel and ex-Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi.