Maya Kodnani

Early life

Kodnani is the daughter of a staunch Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) worker who immigrated from Tharparkar area of Sindh to India during the Indian Partition. She had her early education in a Gujarati-medium school in Deesa of Banaskantha district. The school was set up and run by her father. She also joined Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the parallel organisation of RSS for women.

Kodnani joined the Baroda Medical College from where she did her MBBS and Diploma in Gynaecology and Obstetrics. She set up Shivam Maternity Hospital at Kubernagar in Naroda, Ahmedabad.

Political career

Kodnani began her political career with Ahmedabad civic elections in 1995. She was elected three times from the Naroda constituency as a Member of the Legislative Assembly for the BJP. In 1998, she won the election with a margin of 75,000 votes. In December 2002, shortly after 2002 Gujarat riots, she won by a margin of 110,000 votes. In 2007, her margin increased 180,000 votes. After winning the elections in 2007, she was named as Minister for Women and Child Development of Gujarat in Narendra Modi's BJP government, but resigned from the post in 2009 impending her arrest as accused for the Naroda Patiya massacre.

Role in the 2002 Gujarat riots

Kodnani was convicted of orchestrating the Naroda Gam and Naroda Patiya massacres of the 2002 Gujarat violence on 28 February 2002, in which 97 Muslims, including 36 women and 35 children, were murdered by stabbing, dismemberment and being burned alive individually as well as in groups. Witnesses testified that Kodnani was at the scene of the crimes, handed out swords to Hindu rioters, exhorted them to attack Muslims and at one point fired a pistol. Bajrang Dal members Suresh Richard and Prakash Rathod told Tehelka's journalists on spy camera that Kodnani drove around Naroda all day, urging the mob to hunt Muslims down and kill them. Mobile phone records also placed her at the scene and showed her to be in regular communication with the top police officials, the Home Minister Gordhan Zadaphia and the Chief Minister's office. The mobile phone records were buried by the police and brought to light by the Nanavati-Mehta Commission in 2004. They were later investigated by R. K. Raghavan-led Special Investigation Team (SIT) appointed by the Supreme Court of India in 2008.

Kodnani ignored notices for deposition by the SIT, which declared her an absconder in February 2009. She obtained an anticipatory bail from a sessions court, which was revoked by the Gujarat High Court on 27 March 2009, leading to her subsequent arrest.

She was tried in the Naroda Patiya massacre case and, on 31 August 2012, convicted of murder and conspiracy to commit murder and sentenced to 28 years in prison. The court judgement called her the "kingpin of the Naroda Patiya massacre." Kodnani continued to maintain her innocence, claiming that she was at the Sola Civil Hospital at the time of the riots, meeting the relatives of Godhra victims.

On 17 April 2013, the Gujarat government decided to seek death penalty for Maya Kodnani by filing an appeal in the High Court against the Special Court’s judgement in the case. On 14 May 2013, the Gujarat government subsequently withdrew its decision to seek the death penalty. In November 2013, she was granted an interim bail of 3 months for treatment of intestinal tuberculosis. On 30 July 2014 Gujarat High Court has granted bail to her on grounds of ill health.

Personal life

Maya Kodnani is married to Surendra Kodnani, who is a general physician.