On the Gujarat Government seeking 'death penalty' for Kodnani and others

The Gujarat Government's decision to seek the death penalty for former BJP minister Maya Kodnani and nine other convicts for their role in the Naroda Patiya massacre, during the Gujarat Carnage of 2002, is a sheer gimmick and smacks of a very clever ploy to defocus from more important issues.

The involvement of Kodnani, Bajrangi and several others in the terrible killings was well-known in 2002 itself.Yet she was promoted and made a Minister in the Government. All these years,the Government did all it could to defend the accused  -including Kodnani, Bajrangi and their ilk!

The ruse now is to deflect from the Protest Petition filed by Mrs Zakhia Eshan Jafri  which definitely names people and the events during the carnage!

Besides, the investigative expose on the SIT Report by  a leading news channel a couple of days ago, clearly shows how the SIT Report has left out important records and documents, which conclude that the Carnage was neither sudden nor spontaneous.

One also wonders if the "death penalty" threat is to prevent Kodnani and others from singing about their more powerful mentors?

The Gujarat Government should now focus on the above , to help expedite the process and bring to justice all the accused(in all cases -also those who managed to go scot-free) of the Carnage and in particular accused Number ONE in the Zakhia petition

Fr Cedric Prakash sj

PRASHANT  

-  A Centre for Human Rights, Justice and Peace
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