Naroda Patia case: Guj govt takes U-turn

In a significant U-turn to its earlier stand, the Gujarat government on Tuesday kept on hold its decision to file an appeal against BJP leader Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal's Babu Bajrangi in the Naroda Patia massacre case of the post-Godhra riots in 2002. The Gujarat government had earlier sanctioned an appeal by the SIT seeking death for Kodnani and Bajrangi and longer sentences for the other convicts in the case. The state government is likely to consult the attorney general before filing an appeal. The state law department has now asked the SIT chief prosecutor not to proceed ahead with seeking enhanced sentences for convicts in the massacre.