>Vanamonde93 at 20:25, 5 June 2021

2021-06-05T20:25:36Z

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{{short description|Bajrang Dal leader convicted for massacre of Muslims during the 2002 Gujarat riots}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2020}}
{{Use Indian English|date=August 2019}}
{{Infobox criminal
| name = Babu Bajrangi
| birth_place =
| nationality = Indian
| organization = [[Bajrang Dal]]
| criminal_charge = Guilty of masterminding the [[Naroda Patiya massacre]] which killed 97 Muslims
| criminal_penalty = [[Life imprisonment]]
| occupation = Politician
}}

'''Babubhai Patel''', known by his alias '''Babu Bajrangi''',<ref>{{cite news |title=BJP MLA among 32 guilty in Naroda Paitya Massacre |newspaper=Indian Express |date=30 August 2012 |access-date=29 August 2014 |url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/bjp-mla-among-32-guilty-in-naroda-patiya-massacre/}}</ref> was a leader of the [[Gujarat]]-wing of the [[Bajrang Dal]], a [[Hindu nationalist]] organization in [[India]]. He was a central figure during the [[2002 Gujarat violence]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Riot witness names MLA, says she led Naroda mob |date=30 September 2003 |access-date=29 August 2014 |url=http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-09-30/ahmedabad/27205066_1_naroda-patia-naroda-patia-area-mob|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110811075528/http://articles.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/2003-09-30/ahmedabad/27205066_1_naroda-patia-naroda-patia-area-mob|url-status=dead|newspaper=[[The Times of India]] |archive-date=11 August 2011}}</ref> He was sentenced to [[Life imprisonment|life term imprisonment]] by a special court for his role in masterminding the [[Naroda Patiya massacre]] in which 97 Muslims were murdered including 36 women, 26 men and 35 children.<ref name="naroda" /> The [[Supreme Court of India]] granted him bail on medical grounds in March 2019.<ref>{{cite news |title=Babu Bajrangi, convicted in 2002 Naroda Patiya riots, granted bail by Supreme Court |newspaper=India Today |date=7 March 2020 |access-date=11 March 2020 |url=https://www.indiatoday.in/india/story/babu-bajrangi-2002-naroda-patiya-riots-bail-supreme-court-1472676-2019-03-07}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Supreme Court Grants Bail to 2002 Riots Convict Babu Bajrangi |url=https://thewire.in/communalism/supreme-court-grants-bail-to-2002-riots-convict-babu-bajrangi |access-date=12 February 2021 |work=The Wire |date=7 March 2019}}</ref>

== Role in 2002 riots ==
In 2007, the Indian journal ''[[Tehelka]]'' published a [[hidden camera|hidden-camera]] interview with Bajrangi, in which Bajrangi speaks candidly of his role in the violence against Indian Muslims in the [[Naroda Patiya massacre]], a particularly intense episode of brutality during the 2002 Gujarat riots:<ref name="tehelka_maharana">{{cite news |title=After Killing Them, I Felt Like Maharana Pratap |newspaper=Tehelka |date=1 September 2007 |access-date=29 August 2014 |url=http://www.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107After_killing.asp |archive-url=https://archive.today/20121207113619/http://www.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107After_killing.asp |archive-date=7 December 2012 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

{{Quote|We didn't spare a single Muslim shop, we set everything on fire … we hacked, burned, set on fire … we believe in setting them on fire because these bastards don't want to be cremated, they're afraid of it … I have just one last wish … let me be sentenced to death … I don't care if I'm hanged ... just give me two days before my hanging and I will go and have a field day in [[Juhapura]] where seven or eight lakhs [seven or eight hundred thousand] of these people stay ... I will finish them off … let a few more of them die ... at least 25,000 to 50,000 should die.}}

In the video, Bajrangi claimed that after the killings, he called the home minister [[Gordhan Zadafia|Gordhan Zadaphia]] and the [[Vishwa Hindu Parishad|VHP]] General Secretary [[Jaideep Patel]], and told them about the killings. After a few hours, an [[First Information Report|FIR]] was lodged against him, and the police commissioner issued orders to shoot him at sight.<ref name="tehelka_maharana"/> He was later arrested, and released on bail. He was out on bail at the time of the Tehelka interview. He also claimed [[Narendra Modi]] changed judges three times to ensure that he was released from jail, as the first two judges wanted to sentence Bajrangi to hanging for his heinous crimes.<ref name="tehelka_tape_archives">{{cite web |url=http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107To_Get.asp |title=Tehelka:: Free. Fair. Fearless |publisher=Archive.tehelka.com |date=10 August 2007 |access-date=18 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140915032517/http://archive.tehelka.com/story_main35.asp?filename=Ne031107To_Get.asp |archive-date=15 September 2014 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In 2012, he was convicted in the Naroda Patiya massacre case along with [[Maya Kodnani]] and thirty other accused. All thirty-two of the accused were found guilty of "murder, attempt to murder, conspiracy, spreading enmity and communal hatred and unlawful assembly".<ref name="naroda">
{{cite news|url=http://news.worldsnap.com/states/gujarat/ahmedabad/naroda-patiya-massacre-ex-minister-kodnani-31-convicted-139128.html |title= Naroda Patiya massacre: Ex-minister Kodnani, 31 convicted |newspaper=Worldsnap |date=29 August 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Ex-BJP Minister among 32 convicted of Naroda-Patiya massacre |url=http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article3835078.ece?homepage=true |newspaper=The Hindu |date=29 August 2012|access-date=30 August 2012}}</ref>

On 31 August 2012, Bajrangi was sentenced to [[life imprisonment]].<ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/news-archive/latest-news/naroda-patiya-riots-bjp-mla-maya-kodnani-sentenced-to-28-yrs-in-jail-babu-bajrangi-life/ |title= Naroda Patiya riots: BJP MLA Maya Kodnani sentenced to 28 yrs in jail, Babu Bajrangi life |newspaper=Indian Express |date=31 August 2012 |access-date=29 August 2014}}</ref> However, he continues to be out of jail on bail. As of 2016, Bajrangi had been granted temporary bail 14 times on the pretext of his wife's and his own poor health.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://indianexpress.com/article/india/india-news-india/naroda-patiya-case-babu-bajrangi-gets-7-day-bail-14th-time-since-conviction-3726730/ |title= Naroda patiya case: Babu Bajrangi gets 7 day-bail, 14th time since conviction |newspaper=Indian Express |date=28 October 2016 |access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref> After claiming to have developed partial blindness and deafness, Bajrangi was given an attendant (bodyguard) in [[Sabarmati Central Jail]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=PTI |title=Babu Bajrangi withdraws bail application from Gujarat HC |url=https://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-babu-bajrangi-withdraws-bail-application-from-gujarat-hc-2293185 |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=DNA India |date=17 January 2017 |language=en}}</ref> On 7 March 2019, the Supreme Court of India also granted bail to Babu Bajrangi, after the Gujarat government informed the Supreme Court, in reply to a bail plea that Bajrangi had filed last year, that he was “in bad shape”. The state told the court that Bajrangi has allegedly suffered complete vision loss, besides various other ailments.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://thecognate.com/babu-bajrangi-the-terrorist-who-was-convicted-for-killing-muslims-in-gujarat-in-2002-granted-bail-by-supreme-court/ |title= Babu Bajrangi, The Terrorist Who Was Convicted For Killing Muslims In Gujarat In 2002, Granted Bail By Supreme Court |first=Shaik Zakeer |last=Hussain |work=The Cognate |date= 7 March 2019 |access-date=8 February 2021}}</ref>

==Other activities==
Babu Bajrangi also runs a trust called ''Navchetan trust'', which as per his claims saves the girls who run out of their home and marry outside their community. In a report of the ''Frontline'' magazine it was claimed that his organisation use intimidation and violence to forcibly end the marriages done outside the community . As per this reports and his claims he had saved more than 700 girls from such inter caste marriages.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Bunsha |first1=Dionne |title=A serial kidnapper and his 'mission' |url=https://frontline.thehindu.com/the-nation/article30211982.ece |access-date=8 February 2021 |work=Frontline |date=29 December 2006 |language=en}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[Naroda Patiya massacre]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

{{2002 Gujarat Violence}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bajrangi, Babu}}
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Gujarat politicians]]
[[Category:2002 Gujarat riots]]
[[Category:Hindutva]]
[[Category:Bajrang Dal members]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]

{{Gujarat-politician-stub}}

Babu Bajrangi - Revision history

>Vanamonde93 at 20:25, 5 June 2021