Witness to help SIT nail Kodnani

A witness in the Naroda gaam riot case, Nanumiya Malek, has filed an application in the Gujarat high court to join the Special Investigation Team (SIT) as a party to oppose the anticipatory bail granted to minister of education, women and child welfare, Maya Kodnani, in the case. The application will be heard by justice DH Waghela on February 24.

In his application, Malek said that Kodnani, in order to evade arrest, was absconding for quite some time. He has also said that being a minister, she is a very influential person and is capable of influencing the police department, witnesses and victims of riots. He has said that it is not in the interest of justice to grant anticipatory or regular bail to her in the event of arrest by the SIT.

He said on February 28, 2002, a mob started gathering in the market around 9.30 am. Around 10 am, the mob started shouting slogans against Muslims and threatening to kill them. He said he did not see any policemen coming “to protect the minority community or disperse the mob”. Between 10 and 10.30 am, he saw Jaydeep Patel, Jagdish Chimanlal Patel, shopkeeper of Paramsukh Paan Centre, Fulabhai Vyas, a leader of Bajrang Dal, Girish Prajapati, an RSS activist, Sunil Patel and others joining the mob. They were allegedly instigating the mob to attack Muslims.

He has further said in his application that due to the instigation, a section of the mob attacked his shop and set it on fire. Around noon, the mob had started attacking Muslim-dominated localities. He says that he had then seen Maya Kodnani instigating the mob instead of making an effort to help the victims.

Malek has also stated that the investigation into his complaint, which was clubbed together with 28 other complaints in 2002, was “defective, incomplete and manipulated so as to save the skin of BJP and VHP leaders like Mayaben and Jaydeep Patel”.