Maya Kodnani Explained

Maya Kodnani
Birth Place:Itanagar, Arunachal Pradesh, India
Office:Member of Legislative Assembly, Gujarat
Term Start:1998
Term End:2012
Predecessor:Gopaldas Bhojwani
Successor:Nirmala Wadhwani
Nationality:Indian
Party:Bharatiya Janata Party
Constituency:Naroda

Maya Surendrakumar Kodnani is a former Minister of State for Women and Child Development in the Government of Gujarat. Kodnani joined the 12th legislative assembly of Gujarat after being elected to represent the constituency of Naroda as a candidate for the Bharatiya Janata Party.

In 2012, Kodnani was sentenced to twenty-eight years' imprisonment for her participation in the Naroda Patiya massacre during the 2002 Gujarat riots but acquitted in 2018 by the Gujarat High Court. Kodnani was one of the most high-profile individuals to be convicted in the case, as well being the only woman among the accused.[1] [2]

Early life

Kodnani is the daughter of a Sindhi Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker who moved to India during the Indian Partition. She had her early education in a Gujarati-medium school. She also joined Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the parallel organisation of RSS for women.[3]

Kodnani joined the Baroda Medical College from where she did her MBBS and Diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics. She set up Shivam Maternity Hospital at Kubernagar in Naroda, Ahmedabad.[4]

Political career

Kodnani began her political career with Ahmedabad civic elections in 1995. She was elected three times from the Naroda constituency as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the BJP.[5] In 1998, she won the election with a margin of 75,000 votes. In December 2002, shortly after 2002 Gujarat riots, she won by a margin of 110,000 votes. In 2007, her margin increased 180,000 votes.[6] After winning the elections in 2007, she was named as Minister for Women and Child Development of Gujarat in Narendra Modi's BJP government,[5] but resigned from the post in 2009 pending her arrest as accused for the Naroda Patiya massacre.

Role in the 2002 Gujarat riots

Kodnani was convicted of orchestrating the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya massacres of the 2002 Gujarat riots on 28 February 2002, in which 97 Muslims, including 36 women and 35 children, were murdered by stabbing, dismemberment and being burned alive individually as well as in groups.[5] [7] Witnesses testified that Kodnani was at the scene of the crimes, handed out swords to Hindu rioters, exhorted them to attack Muslims and at one point fired a pistol. Bajrang Dal members Suresh Richard and Prakash Rathod told Tehelka's journalists on spy camera that Kodnani drove around Naroda all day, urging the mob to hunt Muslims down and kill them.[8] Mobile phone records also placed her at the scene and showed her to be in regular communication with the top police officials, the Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia and the Chief Minister's office.[9] The mobile phone records were buried by the police and brought to light by the Nanavati-Mehta Commission in 2004. They were later investigated by R. K. Raghavan-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court of India in 2008.

Kodnani ignored notices for deposition by the SIT, which declared her an absconder in February 2009. She obtained an anticipatory bail from a sessions court, which was revoked by the Gujarat High Court on 27 March 2009, leading to her subsequent arrest.[6]

She was tried in the Naroda Patiya massacre case and, on 31 August 2012, convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison.[10] [11] The court judgement called her the "kingpin of the Naroda Patiya massacre." Kodnani continued to maintain her innocence, claiming that she was at the Sola Civil Hospital at the time of the riots, meeting the relatives of Godhra victims.[12]

On 17 April 2013, the Gujarat government filed an appeal in the High Court seeking the death penalty for Kodnani[13] but withdrew it on 14 May.[14] In November 2013, she was granted an interim bail of three months for treatment of intestinal tuberculosis.[15] On 30 July 2014, Gujarat High Court granted bail to her on grounds of ill health and suspended her prison sentence.[16] On 20 April 2018, the High Court overturned the trial court's findings and acquitted Maya Kodnani, while upholding the conviction of Suresh Richard and Prakash Rathod.[17] [18]

Personal life

Maya Kodnani is married to Surendra Kodnani, who is a general physician.[19]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Naroda Patiya riots: Former minister Maya Kodnani gets 28 years in jail . NDTV.com . 2012-11-17 . 3 November 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20121103154323/http://www.ndtv.com/article/cheat-sheet/naroda-patiya-riots-former-minister-maya-kodnani-gets-18-years-in-jail-261251 . live .
  2. News: Gujarat riots: BJP's Maya Kodnani jailed for 28 years . BBC News . 31 August 2012 . 21 June 2018 . 9 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209035310/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-19432982 . live .
  3. News: Naroda Patiya: How Maya Kodnani fell from BJP poster girl to convict . Firstpost . 30 August 2012 . 28 August 2014 . 9 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209035334/https://www.firstpost.com/politics/maya-kodnani-acquitted-in-naroda-patiya-riot-case-a-look-back-at-how-rss-poster-girls-journey-436232.html . live .
  4. Web site: Express News Service . The rise and fall of Maya Kodnani . Express India . 2012-11-17 . 27 October 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141027202311/http://expressindia.indianexpress.com/latest-news/the-rise-and-fall-of-maya-kodnani/440131/ . dead .
  5. News: For Maya Kodnani, riots memories turn her smile into gloom. 7 June 2012. DNA India. 21 February 2012. 2 September 2012. https://web.archive.org/web/20120902230125/http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report_for-maya-kodnani-riots-memories-turn-her-smile-into-gloom_1653031. live.
  6. Book: Mitta, Manoj. The Fiction of Fact-Finding: Modi & Godhra. HarperCollins Publishers India. 2014. 978-93-5029-187-0. 78–97.
  7. News: Maya gets bail. 7 June 2012. India Today. 19 May 2009. 26 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045139/https://www.indiatoday.in/latest-headlines/story/maya-kodnani-gets-bail-in-2002-riot-cases-48064-2009-05-19. live.
  8. News: Ashish Khetan . Ahmedabad: Carnage Capital . Tehelka . 29 August 2012 . 2014-11-22 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20140521033212/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107Ahmedabad.asp . 21 May 2014 . dmy-all .
  9. News: Naroda verdict may spell trouble for top cops, ex-minister . Hindustan Times . 1 September 2012 . 14 December 2017.
  10. News: Indian nationalist MP gets 28 years for 2002 massacre. Reuters. 31 August 2012. 31 August 2012.
  11. News: Manas Dasgupta . News / National : 28 years for Kodnani, Bajrangi to spend entire life in prison . The Hindu . 31 August 2012 . 2012-11-17 . Chennai, India . 26 December 2018 . https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045151/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/28-years-for-kodnani-bajrangi-to-spend-entire-life-in-prison/article3844297.ece?homepage=true . live .
  12. News: Naroda Patiya case: Mayaben Kodnani's fate hangs in balance. 5 July 2014. India Today. 25 May 2013. 26 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045125/https://www.indiatoday.in/india/west/story/naroda-patiya-case-mayaben-kodnani-judgement-narendra-modi-gujarat-riots-164380-2013-05-25. live.
  13. News: Gujarat government to seek death penalty for Kodnani, Bajrangi . The Hindu . 2013-05-30 . 17 April 2013 . Chennai, India . 12 June 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20140612230632/http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/gujarat-govt-to-seek-death-for-maya-kodnani/article4626829.ece . live .
  14. News: Narendra Modi's U-turn on Maya Kodnani; seeks advocate general's opinion on death penalty. https://archive.today/20130808164208/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2013-05-15/india/39280776_1_babu-bajrangi-maya-kodnani-death-penalty . dead . 2013-08-08 . .
  15. Web site: Supreme Court refuses to grant Maya Kodnani extension of Bail. IANS. news.biharprabha.com. 24 February 2014. 26 December 2018. https://web.archive.org/web/20181226045157/http://news.biharprabha.com/2014/02/supreme-court-refuses-to-grant-maya-kodnani-extension-of-bail/. live.
  16. http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/Naroda-Patia-massacre-Maya-Kodnani-granted-bail-by-Gujarat-high-court/articleshow/39301263.cms Gujarat high court grants bail to Kodnani 30 July 2014
  17. News: Naroda Patiya case: Trial court presumed Maya Kodnani's guilt, sought reasons to support its belief, says HC . The Indian Express . 22 April 2018 . 22 April 2018 . 9 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209035313/https://indianexpress.com/article/india/naroda-patiya-case-trial-court-presumed-maya-kodnanis-guilt-sought-reasons-to-support-its-belief-says-hc-5146807/ . live .
  18. News: Maya Kodnani Acquitted in 2002 Gujarat Riots Case . 20 April 2018 . The Wire . 20 April 2018 . 9 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209035325/https://thewire.in/communalism/maya-kodnani-acquitted-in-2002-gujarat-riots-case . live .
  19. News: Naroda Patiya massacre: Who is Maya Kodnani? . Yahoo! News India . 31 August 2012 . 2014-11-22 . 9 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210209035312/https://in.news.yahoo.com/naroda-patiya-massacre--who-is-maya-kodnani-.html . live .

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