M A I N   N E W S

Zaheera fears threat to life
Asks NHRC to help reopen Best Bakery case

New Delhi, July 12
In a significant development, Zaheera, complainant in the Best Bakery case, has apprehended threat to her life and sought the National Human Rights Commission’s help to reopen the case.

Zaheera appeared before the commission yesterday and stated that her life and that of remaining members of her family were under threat. She had resiled in the trial court from the earlier statements made by her, an NHRC note said today.

She sought the NHRC’s help to reopen the case. The statement of Zaheera was placed on record by the NHRC.

Meanwhile, at a meeting of the full commission held yesterday, the interim report of the three-member NHRC team, which had visited Vadodara was also considered.

As material collected by the team was voluminous in nature and written in Gujarati, the team submitted the interim report requesting among other things that it be given further time to translate and examine the material and submit its report to the commission.

The NHRC agreed to the request and directed the team to submit its report expeditiously.

The NHRC has also decided to request some eminent lawyers to examine the entire record for its future course of action.

Commission Chairman Justice A.S. Anand had described the acquittal of all accused of burning alive 14 persons in the bakery on March 1, 2002 on the outskirts of Vadodara as ‘’miscarriage of justice.’’ He had recommended that the Gujarat Government should approach higher court for reopening of the case. — UNI