Relatives of Best bakery convicts take out protest rally in Vadodara

Vadodara, Feb 24 (UNI) Taking exception to the conviction of nine of the 21 accused in the infamous Best Bakery carnage case, as many as 200 Hanuman Tekri residents and relatives of the convicts today took out a rally in the city protesting the Mumbai Special Court verdict.

Soon after the verdict was pronounced by the re-trial judge in Mumbai today, the residents of Hanuman Tekri, where the carnage occurred nearly four years ago, gathered near the charred bakery and started shouting slogans against the verdict ,as well as social activist Teesta Setalvad, despite heavy police 'bandobast' made to prevent any untoward incident.

The protestors, mostly women and children belonging to the accused families, later marched to the Police Bhawan to register their protest against the judgement before city Police Commissioner Deepak Swaroop.

A few of the protestors were heard shouting slogans against Gujrat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and criticised him for not supporting the cause of the poor families of the ''innocent people,'' accused in the case even after the matter was shifted to Mumbai for re-trial.

A peeved Savitaben, whose one of two sons got convicted in the re-trial, dubbed the Mumbai court verdict as ''biased.'' The protestors alleged that the judgement was the result of a ''conspiracy'' hatched by Teesta Setalvad and Special Public Prosecutor Manjula Ral.

After the police chief assured that he would convey their grievances to the Mumbai court, the angry protestors returned to Hanuman Tekri peacefully.

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