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| Gujarat riots: BJP politician Maya Kodnani given 28 years | |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| An Indian court has sentenced a senior BJP party member to 28 years in jail for her part in murdering 97 people in the 2002 Gujarat religious riots. | |
| Maya Kodnani, an ex-minister and aide to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is the most senior official so far convicted. | Maya Kodnani, an ex-minister and aide to Chief Minister Narendra Modi, is the most senior official so far convicted. |
| Thirty others received life sentences for their part in the killings in Naroda Patiya, a suburb of Ahmedabad. | |
| The riots left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims dead, and were among India's worst outbreaks of unrest. | The riots left more than 1,000 people, mostly Muslims dead, and were among India's worst outbreaks of unrest. |
| The violence began after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire blamed on Muslims in the town of Godhra. | The violence began after 60 Hindu pilgrims died in a train fire blamed on Muslims in the town of Godhra. |
| Ms Kodnani was not a minister at the time of the riots, but was appointed junior minister for women and child development by Mr Modi in 2007. | |
| She quit her post when she was arrested in 2009 in connection with the massacre but remained a member of the state assembly. | |
| On Wednesday she was convicted of murder, attempted murder and conspiracy. Thirty-one others were also found guilty of involvement in the case. One of those convicted was never caught. | |
| Babu Bajrangi, a former leader of the militant Hindu group Bajrang Dal, was found guity on the same charges as Ms Kodnani. He has been sentenced to remain in jail until he dies. | |
| Ninety-five bodies were found after the Naroda Patiya massacre on 28 February 2002. The bodies of two other people missing after the massacre and presumed dead were never found. | |
| The trial began in August 2009 and charges were brought against 62 people. One of the accused died during the trial. |