21 apart, others may be roaming freely

VADODARA: Did the prosecution bring to book all the suspects involved in the Best Bakery carnage or were there others who could have been booked for killing 14 persons on March 1, 2002?
Today, with the National Human Rights Commission petition pending in the Supreme Court and the state government’s appeal amended in the Gujarat High Court, there are many who believe that the number of accused should have been more than 21.
To the extent, even police officials now admit rather reluctantly that it is likely that all the suspects were not arrested.
This question arose after the main complainant and eyewitness, Zahira Sheikh, in her petition before the Supreme Court stated that she could recognise many of the accused.
The petition also states that she had recognised many of them in court during her deposition before Justice H U Mahida on May 9.
“Zahira had revealed the names of some of the accused in her police statement, but added, that she could identify the other accused by their faces. Under these circumstances, the police should have conducted an identification parade,� said Mihir Desai, Zahira’s counsel in the SC. “If a proper, independent and thorough investigation is carried out, a few more people can definitely be prosecuted.�
The case took a different turn only after Zahira and other family members stated that they had turned hostile as local BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastava, Congress corporator Chandrakant Bhattu along with Lal Mohammed and Rehmatullah, had threatened them.
Following this, the Supreme Court had severely indicted the state government for not protecting the witnesses. Subsequently, an FIR was registered for threats given to the witnesses.
Zahira is not the only one who can recognise others who may have been part of the mob.
Tufail Habibullah Sheikh, who had been injured in the carnage, had said recently that he could still recognise the accused who had attacked the bakery. He had also stated that he would disclose the name of a person, sporting a ‘goatee’, only in the court. Tufail was one of four witnesses who was dropped by the prosecution.
On condition of anonymity, a senior police official said, “When the incident happened, riots were at their peak and the staff had to be positioned at various points.
Due to this, there might have been some lacuna in the investigation that was carried out subsequently.�
When asked whether the number of accused would go up if a reinvestigation is ordered, Director General of Police K Chakravarthy said, “The matter has been transferred to the Gujarat High Court. We will act according to the directives of the court.�