SIT’s missing Maya gets bail

Two days after the Special Investigation Team (SIT) probing the 2002 Gujarat riots instructed police stations to ‘look out’ for Gujarat minister Maya Kodnani and VHP leader Jaydeep Patel, the city sessions court granted anticipatory bail to both.

Kodnani, who is minister of women development and child welfare in the state government, was granted anticipatory bail on Thursday on a surety of Rs20,000. The additional sessions judge, AK Aswani, also granted bail to Patel on a surety of the same amount.

The two had filed for anticipatory bail on Monday. While Kodnani was granted bail in the Naroda Gaam and Naroda Patiya riots cases, Patel’s cases related to the riots in Naroda Gaam. 

The court directed Kodnani and Patel to surrender their passports and not to leave the country without permission. The court also directed them not to go in the Naroda area till a chargesheet was filed in the case. They were also told that they would be required to present themselves before the SIT whenever summoned by the investigating officer.  The court ruled that the anticipatory bail order would be valid for a period of 90 days, before the end of which they could apply for regular bail.