'I was, I'm and I will be part of BJP,' says Maya Kodnani

"I was innocent and court's verdict has proved it," she added.

(Photo: PTI | File)

New Delhi: After being acquitted by the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad's Naroda Patiya case, Maya Kodnani, while talking about her affiliation with BJP, said that she was, she is and she will be a part of the saffron party. It may be recalled that a trial court punished her for 28 years in jail calling her the key instigator in Gujarat's worst communal massacre that left 97 Muslims dead in 2002. In an interview to ABP News, she clarified that after some days she will take the decision of rejoining politics. "I was innocent and court's verdict has proved it," she added. The decision has come as a big sign of relief for her. Six years after a trial court announced the verdict, the Gujarat High Court on Friday acquitted former Gujarat minister saying there was no evidence to nail her. A Division Bench of the High Court comprising Justice Harsha Devani and Justice A.S. Supehia acquitted her, stating there was an absence of sufficient proof of her presence at the crime scene where huge armed crowds went about on a killing spree for hours, reported news agency IANS. A SIT Court had in 2012 found it "beyond reasonable doubt" that Kodnani, a doctor by profession, was present at the spot of the crime, instigated mobs to attack Muslims and abetted the crime. "In the record of this case, the witnesses have stated that all the disturbances were started and in fact reached its peak after the arrival of Kodnani. It stands proved beyond all reasonable doubt that she was present and participated in the crime on that day," the court had ruled in August 2012, sentencing Kodnani to 28 years in imprisonment, reported news agency.