Gujarat govt to withhold death appeal against Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi

Zee Media Bureau

Ahmedabad: In a volte-face, the Gujarat government has gone cold on seeking death for Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi, convicted for their role in Naroda Patiya killings, a Gujarat riots case. The state legal department has written to the chief prosecutor in the Naroda Patiya - seeking enhancement of punishment for Kodnani and Bajrangi - to be put on hold. The department had earlier given a sanction to the Special Investigation Team to file an application in the High Court seeking death sentence for Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and nine others. "The decision has been withheld for now as we have to take opinion of state advocate general," Gujarat finance minister and spokesperson Nitish Patel told . "A final decision will be taken after advocate general give his opinion," Patel added. In August last year, the trial court had sentenced Kodnani to 28 years jail, while Bajrangi was awarded imprisonment for life. Eight others were awarded 31-year imprisonment, while 22 convicts got 24 years prison term. As many as 97 people were killed in Naroda Patiya locality of the city by a violent mob on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train carnage triggered communal riots in Gujarat. With Agency Inputs