2002 Gujarat Riots: Mumbai court acquits two in Best Bakery case

A special court in Mumbai on Tuesday acquitted two men, Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil, arrested in the Best Bakery case connected with the Gujarat communal riots of 2002..Special Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) judge, MG Deshpande pronounced that the 2 accused were not guilty and ordered that they be released immediately. .The case was lodged after a bakery in Vadodara was burnt down by a mob during the 2002 Gujarat riots, leading to 14 deaths. The bakery owner’s daughter, Zaheera Sheikh, lodged a complaint against 21 people.The local police arrested all the accused and a fast-track court at Vadodara conducted the trial. In June 2003, 19 persons accused in the case were acquitted due to lack of evidence. Key witnesses, including the complainant, had turned hostile.The remaining 2 accused, Solanki and Gohil, were discharged. Activist, Teesta Setalvad and Zaheera Sheikh thereafter approached the Supreme Court in the matter. The apex court, in 2004, directed a re-trial of the case and transferred the case to Mumbai to ensure fairness and justice. .While the others accused were being tried, Solanki and Gohil were arrested in the Ajmer blast case. In view of this, they were shown as absconding in the Best Bakery case. They were eventually taken into Mumbai police custody on December 13, 2013, and were detained in prison for the last 10 years.The trial in Mumbai against the 19 accused led to the conviction of 9 accused. .The prosecution could only bring 10 witnesses to prove Solanki and Gohil’s alleged role. Some of the officers investigating the case had also passed away. The lawyers representing the 2 accused did not challenge the deaths that took place in the Best Bakery case. The 3 eyewitnesses in the case could not identify Solanki, although 1 eyewitness reportedly recognised Gohil. Among other contentions, the counsel for the accused argued that since the eyewitness used to stay in the same neighbourhood as Gohil, the chances of them recognising each other were high even after 21 years.