Court reserves order on Zahira till Monday

Mumbai, June 9 (UNI) The special court conducting the retrial of the Best Bakery case, reserved its order till next Monday against Zahira Sheikh, the prime eyewitness in the case for giving false evidence.

Justice Abhay Thipsay, during his examination of statements, observed that Zahira had made several false depositions during the course of trial and retrial.

During recording of evidences, Zahira was informed that the court cannot accept her statement claiming she was unaware of reasons for which the case is being heard in Mumbai.

When asked, how she managed to reach the ground floor of the bakery during the incident, Zahira contradicted her earlier statement of using the cement staircase, by saying that she reached the ground floor through ladder, which the court felt was wrong.

When the court reminded her that local fire brigade rescued some trapped people from the roof of the bakery, in her reply she said, ''I do not remember.'' When the court contested that both her arguments of using a ladder and not recalling the fire brigade rescue cannot be true, Zahira said, ''I do not wish to say anything about it.'' The court informed Zahira that her statement stating people were injured on the previous evening, contradicts the evidence of sharp cuts and wounds seen in video recordings.

T0 this Zahira said, ''I only know of injuries from flying objects like soda bottles and stones.'' Later, the court confronted Zahira that she saw police and fire brigade personnels and was trying to suppres the facts.

Zahira again made a turn-around by saying she is not aware of any police complaint or its contents and said her signature was merely taken on a piece of paper while in hospital.

When asked whether she was ignorant of the entire episode during her dispositions in the fast-track court of Vadodara, Zahira said, ''I don't remember anything about that and whatever I am saying is true.'' Zahira added she came to know of the case only in Mumbai and was not aware of the happennings in the fast-track court.

Asked about the names deposed by her during earlier trials and recordings of evidences, Zahira admitted her earlier statement of being tutored to give the names and said, ''I do not wish to say anything on that.'' Additional Public Prosecutor M J Bandgar said, ''The endless change in statements is an attempt to dilute and finish the case to no end.'' Earlier, the Supreme Court, taking a serious note of a false affidavit filed for the second time, sentenced Zahira to one-year imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 50,000 for changing her statements on several occasions during the retrial of the case.

Zahira, has, however, completed three months of the one-year imprisonment.

UNI GVS GK AK PM1921