Haren Pandya murder case: 8 convicted by SC surrender in Guj

Eight of the 12 persons whose conviction was restored by the Supreme Court in the 2003 murder case of former Gujarat Home Minister Haren Pandya surrendered before a special POTA court here on Monday. The convicts surrendered in the court of Special POTA Judge Moolchand Tyagi.

Of the remaining four, one is in jail in Hyderabad while three others have completed their sentences. Pandya was the home minister in the then Narendra Modi-led Gujarat government. He was shot dead on March 26, 2003 near Law Garden in Ahmedabad during his morning walk.

The Supreme Court, on July 5 this year, set aside a Gujarat High Court verdict by which the accused were absolved of the murder charge. The appeals in the apex court were filed by the CBI and the state police, claiming that the August 29, 2011 order of acquittal by the Gujarat High Court was erroneous.

Asghar Ali, Mohammad Rauf, Mohammad Parvez Abdul Kayum Sheikh, Parvez Khan Pathan alias Athar Parvez, Mohammad Farooq alias Haji Farooq, Shahnawaz Gandhi, Kalim Ahmeda alias Kalimullah, Rehan Puthawala, Mohammad Riaz Sareswala, Aniz Machiswala, Mohammad Yunus Sareswala and Mohammad Saifuddin are the 12 convicts.