Gujarat riots: BJP polician Maya Kodnani given 28 years
(about 5 hours later)
An Indian court is due to sentence 32 people convicted for involvement in the 2002 religious riots in Gujarat state.
An Indian court has sentenced a senior BJP party figure to 28 years in jail for her part in murdering 95 people in the 2002 Gujarat religious riots.
Among those convicted in the case, known as the Naroda Patiya massacre, are former minister Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi, a former leader of the militant Hindu group Bajrang Dal.
Maya Kodnani, an ex-minister and aide to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is the most senior official so far convicted.
A total of 95 people were killed in the violence on 28 February 2002, in the Naroda Patiya area of Ahmedabad city.
Thirty others received jail terms ranging from 14 years to life for their part in the killings in Naroda Patiya.
Most of the convicted were found guilty of murder and criminal conspiracy.
The riots left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims dead, and were among India's worst outbreaks of unrest.
The maximum punishment that can be given is the death penalty.
The violence began after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire blamed on Muslims in the town of Godhra.
The trial began in August 2009 and charges were framed against 62 people. One of the accused died during the trial.
Ms Kodnani was the junior minister for women and child development in the Gujarat government when she was arrested in connection with the incident in 2009.
More than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed when riots erupted after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire in 2002.
It was one of India's worst outbreaks of religious violence in recent years.
