Naroda Gam riot: SIT summons Maya Kodnani, Jaydeep Patel

Highly placed sources in the SIT told Newsline that Patel and Kodnani, Gujarat8217;s Minister of State for Child and Women Welfare and Higher Education, have been issued the summons under provisions of the Criminal Procedure Code.

Patel has been asked to appear before the Supreme Court-appointed SIT in Gandhinagar on Thursday at 11 am, while Kodnani has been asked to come on Friday at 12 noon.

This comes a day after SIT chief R K Raghavan told this paper that the two leaders might be called in for questioning in connection with the case.

Neither Kodnani nor Patel could be contacted for their comments. Both the leaders have been named accused by a number of residents of Naroda Gam.

Kodnani and Patel have been denying playing any role in the riots. However, mobile phone records gathered by IPS officer Rahul Sharma show that the two leaders were present in the Naroda Gam area when a mob attacked the minority dominated area.

Their names had appeared in the original FIR lodged in the case. But on September 4, 2002, the Ahmedabad City Detection of Crime Branch had filed a summary report in the court pleading to close the case. They argued that the FIRhad been merged with another FIR relating to the killings, so the names of Patel and Kodnani be removed as there was no evidence against them.

Eight people were killed in the Naroda Gam rioting that had broken out a day after the S 6 coach of the Sabarmati Express was attacked at Godhra on February 27, 2002. The SIT is re-investigating the case on the orders of the apex court.