Best bakery case: 2 accused acquitted, lawyers call Session Court’s verdict a ‘victory’

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], June 13 (ANI): A Sessions Court in Mumbai on Tuesday acquitted two accused in connection with the 2002 Best Bakery case in Gujarat wherein 14 people were killed when the bakery was set ablaze during the Gujarat carnage.

The two accused, Mafat and Harshad who were facing charges under the sections of the Indian Penal Code, including murder, destruction of evidence and attempt to murder were acquitted on Tuesday by Mumbai’s session court.

Two other accused Jayantibhai Gohil and Ramesh aka Rinku Gohil died in jail pending trial.

Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil had previously faced trial in the Vadodara court but had absconded during the retrial in Mumbai. They were subsequently arrested in 2013, and the trial against them began in 2019.

Harshad was arrested by Rajasthan police in 2010, while Mafat was arrested from his home in Gujarat by NIA in March 2013.

The accused, Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil, were absconding when the other accused faced trial in Mumbai, leading to a separate trial for them.

The Best Bakery case dates back to March 1, 2002, when the bakery was torched by a mob during the 2002 Gujarat riots, which led to the death of 14 people.

Following the incident, the bakery owner’s daughter, Zaheera Sheikh had lodged a police complaint against 21 people.

In June 2003, when the fast-track court acquitted all the accused, it pointed to a lack of evidence as key witnesses, including Sheikh, had turned hostile.

Speaking on the verdict, Advocate Virendra Ichalkaranjikar on Tuesday said that the Session Court has acquitted the two accused who were languishing in jail since 2010.

Advocate Prakash Salsingikar, the other lawyer representing the case, said that no efforts were made by the prosecution for the accused for many years, hence, he along with other lawyers produced papers through a writ petition, which resulted in today’s verdict.