‘His killer shouldn’t be freed, will embolden others,’ says Haren Pandya’s wife

HC tells govt to consider remission plea of Asgar Ali — given life term for murder

Former Gujarat home minister Haren Pandya was shot dead outside Law Garden in Ahmedabad on March 26, 2003. (File Photo)

4 min readAhmedabadJun 26, 2026 03:49 PM IST First published on: Jun 26, 2026 at 05:19 AM IST

Jagruti Pandya, the wife of slain former Gujarat minister Haren Pandya, has opposed any move to grant remission to Mohammed Asgar Ali, the hitman convicted of killing her husband on March 26, 2003.

Jagruti spoke to The Indian Express after the High Court order directed the state government to decide on a remission application moved by Ali preferably within six months. Ali, who was sentenced to life imprisonment, has sought remission on the grounds that he has spent more than 14 years in jail.

Jagruti said only the family should have the right to decide on the matter, noting that at least three accused in her husband’s murder case were still absconding, including “mastermind” Mufti Sufiyan. Releasing Ali would only “embolden them”, she said.

“I believe Ali, who was part of the conspiracy and took my husband’s life, should not be freed. He is a sharpshooter and can take anyone else’s life for money. Releasing him will only embolden him and others to commit more such crimes,” Jagruti told The Indian Express. “Apart from Mufti Sufiyan, there are Rasool Khan ‘Parti’ and Sohail Khan who are absconding.”

Also Read | Haren Pandya murder case: Gujarat HC grants parole to convict pending remission plea

Haren Pandya, a former Minister of State for Revenue in the Narendra Modi-led BJP government in Gujarat, was shot dead while out on a morning walk, sending shock waves through the state.

Mufti Sufiyan ‘Patangiya’, a cleric in Ahmedabad, is suspected to have fled the country. He is accused of hatching the plot to kill Pandya, and “preparing” Ali and the others for it.

Ali’s lawyer, who didn’t want to be named, told The Indian Express: “We have sought remission on the ground that he has spent (more than) 14 years in jail and can get benefit of remission. He is entitled to it. The state government can take a decision as it is empowered… It has the option to either grant the remission or to reject it.”

Ali, who was in his 20s when held for the murder, is a native of Telangana.

Justice M R Mengdey of the High Court asked the government to decide on Ali’s remission application in an order dated June 17, saying: “From the jail remarks submitted on record, it appears that the process for consideration of the case of the petitioner for grant of remission is underway and the opinion from the Advisory Committee has also been called for, which has been received and the same shall be put up before the concerned authority in the near future. Having regard to these aspects, the concerned authority shall take an appropriate decision, in accordance with law, on the application submitted by the petitioner for grant of remission, as expeditiously as possible, preferably within a period of 6 months from the date of receipt of the order.”

In-charge Principal Secretary (Home) Sanjeev Kumar could not be reached for comment. The probe into Pandya’s murder was handed over to the CBI after family members raised questions over police investigation. The CBI clubbed the case with an attempted murder, of VHP leader Jagdish Tiwari, just 15 days earlier, in Bapunagar area of Ahmedabad, in which Ali was also an accused.

Both cases were seen as reprisals for the 2002 Gujarat riots.

In 2007, a special CBI court convicted 12 persons in the case, including Ali, who was awarded life imprisonment. In 2011, the High Court acquitted all of them, citing a “botched” investigation.

The CBI and the state government appealed against the order, and the SC overturned the HC order in 2019. It upheld the trial court’s judgment convicting the 12.