The Best Bakery case (also called Tulsi Bakery case) was a legal case involving the burning down of the Best Bakery on March 1, 2002, in Vadodara, India. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 14[1] (including 12 Muslims[2]), has come to symbolize the carnage, and the alleged complicity of the state government during the 2002 Gujarat violence.[3]
The day after the attack, Zaheera Sheikh filed the first informant complaint. [1] Zaheera, a 19-year-old during the incident, was a key and notable witness. She stated that she saw her family members burn to death, when the mob gathered, shouting communal slogans. Her family fled to the terrace and some locked themselves in a first floor room. The mob set the bakery on fire and killings continued from 6 pm to 10 am the next day. Her statements were recounted for many publications. Another notable witness was a tailor from Ahmedabad, Qutubuddin Ansari.[3]
On March 23, however, 37 of the 73 witnesses, including Zaheera, turned hostile, saying they had seen nothing the night of the attack. [3]
All of the 21 accused muslims were acquitted on June 27, 2003 by a "fast-track court."[7][5] Other witnesses, had suffered head injuries and were not in the mental state to give an accurate witness. The government pointed to the lapses by the police in "registering and recording of FIR" and on the part of the prosecution in "recording of evidence" of witnesses in the Best Bakery case.[8]
The Gujarat government filed an amended appeal in the Gujarat High Court seeking retrial of the case. The appeal was admitted by the Gujarat High Court. After being indicted by the Supreme Court of India, the police registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party legislator for intimidating the witnesses of the incident. The Government of Gujarat admitted there were lapses on the part of the police in registering and recording the FIR in the case and on the part of the prosecution in recording the evidence of witnesses. It said the police had attempted to help the accused by not submitting names of the accused.
Zaheera Sheikh retracted her statement again. She stated that the judgment passed by the Gujarat court was correct. She also stated that she had never met the above mentioned legislator. She claims that she made all the statements under the pressure of NGO activist Teesta Setalvad.
Thus 17 charged with murdering 14 people, were retried in a case beginning in 2004.[11]
The prosecution declared Zaheera Sheikh to be a hostile witness. A tape by Tehelka claimed that Zaheera had been bribed by a MLA Masjlis-e-Shura, an apex decision-making bodies of Muslims, consequently declared Zaheera Sheikh, as a 'dissembler', effectively ousting her from the Muslim community. The organization stated its reason that Zaheera was "tarnishing its [community's] image by making false statements." [12]
Zaheera was sentenced by the Indian Supreme Court to one year in prison for perjury in the murder, after being found guilty by the court of lying. She was also fined 50,000 rupees (US$1,000), which, if unpaid, would increase her time in prison by another year.[13]
The day after the attack, Zaheera Sheikh filed the first informant complaint. [1] Zaheera, a 19-year-old during the incident, was a key and notable witness. She stated that she saw her family members burn to death, when the mob gathered, shouting communal slogans. Her family fled to the terrace and some locked themselves in a first floor room. The mob set the bakery on fire and killings continued from 6 pm to 10 am the next day. Her statements were recounted for many publications. Another notable witness was a tailor from Ahmedabad, Qutubuddin Ansari.[3]
On March 23, however, 37 of the 73 witnesses, including Zaheera, turned hostile, saying they had seen nothing the night of the attack. [3]
All of the 21 accused muslims were acquitted on June 27, 2003 by a "fast-track court."[7][5] Other witnesses, had suffered head injuries and were not in the mental state to give an accurate witness. The government pointed to the lapses by the police in "registering and recording of FIR" and on the part of the prosecution in "recording of evidence" of witnesses in the Best Bakery case.[8]
The Gujarat government filed an amended appeal in the Gujarat High Court seeking retrial of the case. The appeal was admitted by the Gujarat High Court. After being indicted by the Supreme Court of India, the police registered a case against Bharatiya Janata Party legislator for intimidating the witnesses of the incident. The Government of Gujarat admitted there were lapses on the part of the police in registering and recording the FIR in the case and on the part of the prosecution in recording the evidence of witnesses. It said the police had attempted to help the accused by not submitting names of the accused.
Zaheera Sheikh retracted her statement again. She stated that the judgment passed by the Gujarat court was correct. She also stated that she had never met the above mentioned legislator. She claims that she made all the statements under the pressure of NGO activist Teesta Setalvad.
Thus 17 charged with murdering 14 people, were retried in a case beginning in 2004.[11]
The prosecution declared Zaheera Sheikh to be a hostile witness. A tape by Tehelka claimed that Zaheera had been bribed by a MLA Masjlis-e-Shura, an apex decision-making bodies of Muslims, consequently declared Zaheera Sheikh, as a 'dissembler', effectively ousting her from the Muslim community. The organization stated its reason that Zaheera was "tarnishing its [community's] image by making false statements." [12]
Zaheera was sentenced by the Indian Supreme Court to one year in prison for perjury in the murder, after being found guilty by the court of lying. She was also fined 50,000 rupees (US$1,000), which, if unpaid, would increase her time in prison by another year.[13]
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