31-year jail for Naroda Patiya convict who jumped bail

An absconding convict in the 2002 Naroda Patiya riot case was sentenced to 31 years rigorous imprisonment by a special court here on Friday.

The convict, Suresh Netalkar alias Shehzad, will join 31 others, including minister Maya Kodnani and Bajrang Dal leader Babu Bajrangi, in prison for the massacre of 97 persons.

Netalkar, who had jumped bail and was arrested on Thursday from Nandurbar (Maharashtra), was termed as the "main conspirator" by special judge Jyotsana Yagnik.

The court sentenced Netalkar to 21 years life imprisonment for murder (IPC Section 302), after spending 10 years in jail for voluntarily causing grievous hurt by dangerous weapons or means (IPC Section 326).

Netalkar was among 32 accused who were held guilty under various sections of IPC, including murder and conspiracy, in the verdict that was announced on August 31. The quantum of punishment for Netalkar had been reserved by the court since he was absconding.

When the judge pulled up Netalkar for jumping bail, he broke down in the court and said, "I did this for my family as I had some responsibility to marry off my daughter. But I was about to come back." The judge told him that jumping bail was a wrongful act.

Before pronouncing the sentence, the court made arrangement for a lawyer for Netalkar since his own lawyers refused to assist him as he had jumped bail. The court had pulled up the surety of Netalkar after he failed to produce himself before the court.

The court also had a word of appreciation for the police for arresting Netalkar in quick time. The police team informed the court that they arrested Netalkar from Maharashtra based on a tip-off and mobile phone locations.

Earlier, the court had ordered the Special Investigation Team to form a squad to catch and bring the convict to the court.

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