Life imprisonment for 10 in Best Bakery
case
by Sushil Pareek
Mumbai:
A Sessions Court here today convicted ten people and acquitted
seven out of 21 for their involvement in the Best Bakery
case during the 2002 Gujarat riots in Vadodra. The verdict,
delivered by Judge Abhay Thipsay also ruled that witnesses
in the case, Zaheera will face perjury charges. She has
also been charged with a show-cause notice. Thipsay had
conducted the retrial in the Best Bakery case on the orders
of the Supreme Court. The 17 accused have been charged with
burning alive 14 people, nine of whom were from the family
of the key witness Zaheera Sheikh. Zaheera along with her
family members had taken refuge in the Best Bakery on Hanuman
Tekdi on March 1, 2002. The incident occurred during the
Godhra riots.
A total of 21 people were accused. Zaheera, the main eyewitness
lost her family in the incident. Zaheera, the prime witness
in the case, had moved the Supreme Court alleging that all
the 21 accused in the case had been acquitted by the trial
court in Gujarat as she had turned hostile because of threats
issued to her. Giving a turn to the incident on November
3, 2002, Zaheera filed an affidavit before the Vadodara
collector saying she was pressurised by NGO activist Teesta
Setalvad to name innocent persons as accused before the
special court in Mumbai conducting the re-trial. Zaheera
had also denied meeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Member
of Legislative Assembly (MLA) Madhu Shrivastav, who, she
alleged had threatened her from stating the truth before
the Vadodara Fast Track Court. In another turnaround, she
had also said that the judgment passed by the Fast Track
Court Judge HU Mahida was correct. The apex court, on April
12, 2004, asked a Mumbai court to conduct the retrial so
that the accused were given a fair trial outside Gujarat
and the witnesses deposed without any fear. While ordering
retrial, the apex court had nullified the order of the lower
court which acquitted all the 21 accused. Four of them were
untraceable and 17 were arrested and brought to Mumbai for
retrial.
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