New Delhi: The Mumbai sessions court on Tuesday acquitted two accused in Gujarat’s 2002 Best Bakery case in which a total of 14 people were killed in a mob attack. The accused were Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil.
On March 1, 2002, Vadodara’s Best Bakery was burnt to ashes by a mob of thousands. The attack was symbolic of the Godhra train accident in the same year.
After the incident, the daughter of Zaheera Sheikh, the owner of Best Bakery, filed a complaint against 21 people, alleging that the mob had targeted the Muslim family living there.
The case was going on in a Gujarat court which acquitted all the accused citing lack of evidence. The matter was later taken to the Gujarat High Court.
Subsequently, a review petition was filed by the Supreme Court in 2004 and the matter was posted to Maharashtra. The special court of Maharashtra had convicted 9 people in this case.