Gujarat Minister Mayaben Kodnani surrendered in Gujrat riot case

Gujarat Minister Mayaben Kodnani has surrendered after resigning from the Narendra Modi Cabinet, following cancellation of her bail by the Gujarat High Court. Kodnani along with VHP leader Jaideep Patel are the prime accused in one of the cases relating to the post Godhra communal riots of 2002.
Kodnani, who is accused of leading mobs in Ahmedabad's Naroda Patiya and Naroda Gaam areas in which 106 people were killed during the 2002 sectarian violence, submitted her resignation soon after the court verdict came in.In his order, Justice DH Waghela said: "Maya Kodnani was leading a mob but still did not control them (mob). This is nothing less than organised crime." The BJP government in the state put up a brave face saying the court ruling against the minister, who holds the triple charge of higher education, women and child welfare, was not an embarrassment to the BJP.

Kodnani had been named by the Supreme Court appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) as one of those who encouraged rioters to attack Muslims in the Naroda Gaam and Naroda Patiya localities in the immediate aftermath of the Godhra train burning on February 27, 2002. Witnesses in the Kodnani case also told the SIT that they were being harassed over the phone and being told to drop charges against the minister. The Godhra train burning led to widespread attacks on Muslims in the state, leading to 1,180 people, mostly Muslims, being killed.