Reshma and Payal Kukarani

Bharatiya Janta Party has started paying back to their victory heroes by showering accolades on them in many ways. 

Now the daughter of an accused in Naroda Patiya massacre got ticket to contest Naroda seat in Gujarat Vidhan Sabha Election. The thirty year old, anaesthetist by profession Payal Kukrani is the daughter of Manoj Kukrani who was convicted in Naroda Patiya massacre happened in 2002 and was awarded life imprisonment. He is currently out on bail as most of the time he lives out of the bars. Payal will fight this election from Naroda. Her Mother Reshma is already a corporator from Saijpur in Ahmedabad.   

As per India Today reports, Congress Spoke person Alok Sharma asked, “Why did the BJP not field some other candidate? This is what BJP is doing for such a long time. But BJP’s fake Hindutva is now exposed and it does not stand any chance of winning."  

Knowing that Payal is nonpolitical person, she has replaced Balram Thawani, the sitting BJP MLA from Naroda, as the party's candidate. This the clear sign that BJP is rewarding the riot convicts.

The Kukrani family belongs to the Sindhi community that dominates the area. Some BJP workers in the area are unhappy over her candidature as they believe that she is married to a non-Sindhi and hence is no longer a member of the community. But this doesn’t matter when it comes to polling. Every citizen irrespective of his or her caste by birth or marriage is liable to contest election.

What is Naroda Patiya Massacre?

27th and 28th February 2002 were the days in Indian History that draw a stain on humanity and turned Indian politics upside down. On 27th 59 Karsevaks were killed near Godhra in Gujarat who were returning from Ayodhya were in Sabarmati Express. A muslim mob of 1000-2000 people burnt this train. The next day, a mob of 5000 came to Naroda Patiya and did the most inhuman act with the minority community. 97 people from Minority were killed in their home,   

In Naroda Patiya Total 97 members of the minority community were massacred at home to around 2,000 migrant workers particularly from Karnataka and Maharashtra at that time-by a rampaging mob on February 28, 2002, in state-wide riots a day after the torching of the Sabarmati Express at Godhra.

Out of the total 61 accused in Naroda Patiya case, the special SIT court had in August 2012 held 32 guilty and acquitted 29 others. In its order on appeals, the high court had convicted 16 people in April 2018. Manoj Kukrani is among these 16 convicts who were sentenced to life imprisonment.

BJP’s showered this “Thanks and Regards” to Chandrasinh Raulji, the one convict in the Bilkis Bano case was claiming him as a "Sanskari Brahmins". He was part of a Gujarat government committee that had granted remission to the convicts serving life terms.

Godhra Kand Conviction:

In Godhra Kand 34 persons were held guilty and acquitted 63 others on 1st March 2011. The prime conspirator, Maulvi Saeed Umarji was acquitted along with 62 other accused due to lack of evidence. The convictions were based on the murder and conspiracy provisions of Sections 302 and 120B of the Indian Penal Code respectively and under Sections 149, 307, 323, 324, 325, 326, 332, 395, 397, and 436 of the Code and some sections of the Railway Act and Police Act. Out of these, 11 were sentenced to death, while 20 were given life imprisonment. Three persons were sentenced to life imprisonment in two cases related to the burning of the train.

However, in October 2017, the Gujarat High Court commuted the death sentences of the 11 convicts to life imprisonment.

Rafik Bhatuk was part of a core group of accused persons who took part in the conspiracy to set fire Sabarmati Express. He was allegedly involved in inciting the mob and arranging for petrol to torch the train compartment. But he had been absconding for 19 years and was arrested in February 2021. Bhatuk was the 35th person to have been convicted in the case. All of them are serving their punishment.