Best Bakery farce: NHRC says re-open

‘‘Nobody would deny that 14 persons were burnt alive and property worth lakhs was looted and destroyed at Best Bakery. These are simple facts which can be investigated anytime and followed by a fresh trial,’’ Anand said. NHRC, he said, had at the outset asked the Gujarat government to go in for a CBI investigation in the case.

Anand said the Gujarat government must go for an appeal to the High Court against the acquittal of all the 21 accused. If the state dithers, any of the relatives of the victims could do the same. In that case, the High Court, sometimes, could order fresh investigations in the case and it would automatically lead to a fresh trial.

Promising that ‘‘NHRC would support any effort against the acquittal,’’ Anand said the appeal against the Best Bakery order was important since it could become a trend-setter for many cases of violence related to post-Ghodhra carnage that were expected to go for trial in coming days.

Twelve people were burnt alive on March 1, 2002, in the Best Bakery in Vadodara during a bandh call given by the Bajrang Dal and VHP to protest the killing of 59 Ram Sevaks near Godhra railway station on February 27 last year.

Two later succumbed to injuries. Referring to the tragedy, Anand said, ‘‘The victims are not bothered about technicalities, they must get unpolluted and fair justice.’’

Admitting that the eyewitnesses and victims in the case had beeen living under a ‘fear-psychosis’’ which led to many of them doing a disappearing act, Anand said NHRC ‘‘would send a team to Gujarat to ensure the safety and protection of all the witnesses and victims who would be appearing in the courts in similar cases.’’

The NHRC chief, however, admitted that Commission’s special rapporteur in Ahmedabad had not sent in any reports on police tampering with evidence or a fearful victim or eyewitness coming forward with a complaint of intimidation or denial of protection, so far. ‘‘I am waiting for his report,’’ Anand said.

Just before the Best Bakery trial the NHRC had issued notices to the Gujarat Police Director-General asking him to protect the fear-stricken victims and witnesses who were to appear before the trial courts.

Anand’s predecessor Justice J S Verma too had submitted a damaging report on the role of Gujarat government in the post-Ghodhra riots to the Centre in April last year. He had cast doubts on the role of the state police in conducting investigations and recommended the CBI be handed over cases of all the killings. It was rejected by the Gujarat government.

The NHRC had been targetted by human rights’ activists for its ‘‘passive role’’ in Gujarat. Anand, however, denied it and claimed, ‘‘The commission has always been monitoring the Gujarat developments.’’