Vadodara, Sept 29: An inquiry has been ordered into allegations of threats being received by Zahira, the key witness in the Best Bakery case, during trial in a fast track court here, police said today. The statements of Zahira`s sister-in-law, Yasminbanu to the media would be taken into account by the investigating agency, police said.
The police team would record whatever Zahira and Sehrunissa had stated before the media in Mumbai and elsewhere in this regard. After the verdict in the case, Zahira had told mediapersons in Mumbai that she, along with her mother Sehrunissa, had turned hostile in the case after receiving threatening calls.
Twelve people were allegedly burnt alive in the Best Bakery during post-Godhra riots and twenty-one people were acquitted in the case due to lack of evidence, leading to widespread protests. Zahira and Sehrunissa had also approached the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and the Supreme Court, demanding re-trial outside Gujarat, prompting the apex court to pass strictures against the Gujarat government.
Since Zahira and Sehrunissa were in Mumbai, a police party may go to Mumbai to record their statements, they said.
About Yasminbanu, whose statement was recorded by police yesterday, Police Commissioner S K Sinha said that the investigating agency may also take into consideration her statement made to media. She had been alleging that innocents had been framed in the case. Bureau Report