Kodnani

It was the deadliest mass killing at a single location during the three days of rioting in Gujarat following the deaths of 59 Hindu pilgrims in a train fire. Official estimates put the death toll at around 1,100, with approximately two-thirds of the victims being from the minority community.

The opposition Congress in Gujarat accused the state government led by the BJP, which is in power since 1998, of destroying evidence to weaken the case against Kodnani and those acquitted.

“The BJP government has either destroyed the evidence or wilfully didn’t submit it in court,” said Paresh Dhanani, the Congress legislature party leader in the Gujarat assembly.

The BJP was quick to respond to the allegation. Parliamentarian and party spokesperson Meenakshi Lekhi accused the Congress of victimising Kodnani and implicating her in a “false case” when it was in power at the Centre. “Whether it was petitions for a probe into the (judge BH) Loya death case or the charges against Kodnani, they were all fabricated cases,” she said.