Ten years after the gruesome incident in the Gujarat riots in which 14 people were burnt alive at Best Bakery, the Bombay high court on Monday confirmed life sentences on four of the accused, while acquitting another five on their appeal.
The court confirmed life sentences awarded by the trial court in case of four accused, while acquitting five others for want of adequate evidence. A division bench comprising Justices V.M. Kanade and P.D. Kode upheld the life sentences of Sanjay Thakkar, Baha-dur Singh Chauhan, Sanabhai Baria and Dinesh Rajbhar.
The judges relied on statements by four injured witnesses, all workers of Best Bake-ry, who identified the accused and said they were present when the incident took place armed with swords and other lethal weapons during the post-Godhra communal riots.
The bench, however, overturned the trial court order and acquitted Rajubhai Baria, Pankaj Goasvi, Jagdish Rajput, Suresh alias Lalo Devjibhai Vasava and Shailesh Tadvi, saying there was no evidence against them. The judges said none of the witnesses attributed any role to them during the riots.
On March 1, 2002, two days after the Godhra carnage, a mob attacked Baroda’s Best Bakery, looting and burning it down, killing 14 people.