The Best Bakery trial, which had become symbolic of the quest for justice in Gujarat, has also taken the most exasperating twists over the last couple of years, continually threatening to thwart the truth. In a painstaking month-long investigation, TEHELKA reporter Ashish Khetan blows the lid off the sordid story

She told her story over and over again. She recounted every moment of that night for the police, for the media. Zaheera Sheikh, the 19-year-old with vulnerable eyes and schoolgirl plaits, had returned from hell that fateful night. She was sitting with her family in Best Bakery — a small bread-making unit in Vadodara’s slum-like Hanuman Tekri — when she first smelt trouble. She and her family were still wondering whether to leave or not when “the mob began gathering”. She relived the nightmare with every sentence. “The mob was so large, they could not be counted. They were violent and armed, and they came shouting anti-Muslim slogans. We were 25 of us inside the house. We made a run for the terrace. Some who could not make it locked themselves in a first floor room. They were asphyxiated and burnt to death. It was a dance of death that continued all night. The rooftop was hot and our feet were turning red. We had no option but to hide behind the parapet.”

Her account of that night went into police files, got printed in newspapers and Zaheera soon became the prime witness in what is now known as the Best Bakery case. The Best Bakery case and Zaheera Sheikh became the symbol of the Gujarat carnage. But each time Zaheera changed her stand, she also brought the case under a cloud. The bizarre drama was carried out in full public view. The Vadodara-Mumbai-Vadodara flip-flop continued for months and everyone talked about the possibility of a dubious deal. The whisper campaign formed the basis of the TEHELKA sting operation.

Zaheera has continuously changed her testimony. Why does Zaheera keep recanting and shifting? She has somersaulted on three important occasions and her testimonies — filed as sworn affidavits — have affected the trial and changed the course of justice. Which one of these testimonies is true?

May 17, 2003: In a dramatic turnabout, Zaheera turned hostile. She told the Vadodara court that she did not see what the mob did because she was hiding in fear. Based on this, all the 21 accused were acquitted by the court.

July 7, 2003: Zaheera surfaced in Mumbai with activist Teesta Setalvad saying she had turned hostile because when she reached the court complex, she met Chandrakant Batthoo Srivastava, BJP legislator Madhu Srivastava’s cousin brother who threatened her. Batthoo is a local Congress corporator. That day, Zaheera said, “When I reached the court, I met Chandrakant Batthoo. He threatened that in case I stuck to my earlier statement, the remaining four members of my family would be killed. There were no Muslims in the court. Two thoughts crossed my mind — should I get the accused or should I save my surviving family members? I decided in favour of saving my family members.” She then also asked for the case to be transferred out of Gujarat, a request that was conceded by the Supreme Court. She also said that Madhu Srivastava, a BJP MLA close to Narendra Modi, had threatened her.

November 3, 2004: Zaheera Sheikh returned to Vadodara with another stunning admission. This time she accused Teesta Setalvad and Raes Khan of having held
her hostage.

December 21, 2004: Zaheera deposed in the Mumbai court saying she had not seen anything that night.