Maya Kodnani was in state assembly not in Naroda Gam on day of riots, Amit Shah tells court

BJP national president Amit Shah was issued summons after Maya Kodnani’s counsel informed the court that Shah was inaccessible. (Source: Express photo by Javed Raja)

BJP national president Amit Shah on Monday deposed before a special court hearing the Naroda Gam massacre case as a defence witness for the key accused and former Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani. Shah appeared in the packed court amid heavy security at 11 AM. In his deposition, which lasted for about 40 minutes, Shah said that he saw Maya Kodnani at Gujarat Assembly at around 8.30 am on February 28, 2002, and again at around 11 AM to 11.30 am at Sola Civil Hospital.

However, in the chargesheet filed by SIT, Kodnani allegedly left the assembly at 8.40 am and reached Naroda Gam at around 9.30 am. The SIT has cited several eyewitnesses and claimed that signals from Kodnani’s mobile phone suggested that she was at the spot till 10.30 am.

Kodnani is facing charges of instigating people to avenge the deaths of karsevaks killed in the Godhra train carnage.

Shah said that he saw Kodnani while he was leaving Sola Civil Hospital, where the dead bodies of victims of Godhra carnage case were brought. He said that the victim’s relatives were getting angry and there was chaos at the hospital. He said a police team escorted him out of the hospital and a police Jeep dropped him at Gota Chowk, where his vehicle was awaiting. He claimed that he saw Kodnani also being escorted by the police out of the hospital premises.

Security beefed up outside the sessions court in Ahmedabad. (Source: Express Photo)

During the cross-examination by the prosecution on why he did not depose earlier, Shah said: “No summon was ever issued for his appearance. The SIT knew that I was at Sola hospital where I saw Kodnani but they never called me for testifying.”

Shah replied in the affirmative when asked whether he knew that the SIT had issued notices in media asking anyone with evidence in the riots cases to come forward and assist the probe.

With Shah’s deposition, 13 people have testified in the court in favour of Kodnani. She is among the 82 accused facing trial for allegedly killing 11 Muslims. In 2012 she was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Naroda Patiya massacre.