On eve of trial, punish Zaheera is Muslim prayer

A day before the Best Bakery case verdict, Muslims in Vadodara are praying fervently — praying for a suitable punishment for Zaheera an...

A day before the Best Bakery case verdict, Muslims in Vadodara are praying fervently — praying for a suitable punishment for Zaheera and her family. An unlikely prayer, but the community believes that it would set an example for others.

‘‘May Zaheera and family be punished. We want the accused to be punished but more than that it is the family that should learn a lesson,’’ said Razak Memon, who headed the Baroda Relief Committee during post-Godhra riots.

Even as television channels and media mount vigils at Hanuman Tekri, where the Best Bakery massacre took place, Thursday saw both the families of the accused and the Muslim community of the city praying — albeit for different blessings.

Story continues below this ad

‘‘At least a minimum conviction has to be there for this family, setting an example so that none dares to make mockery of the judiciary in future,’’ said Memon.

In the walled city area as well as Muslim-dominated areas of Vadodara, the community is bracing for the worst on Friday, when a special sessions court in Mumbai will deliver the verdict.

While the community believes that there will be some conviction, it is the lot of Zaheera and the family that is uppermost in their minds. What seems to hurt the community more than the family’s turnaround is its brazen support to the BJP.

‘‘They might not have taken the responsibility of the entire community but greed too has its limit. A punishment should be an example for all,’’ observed Pervez, a youth who has been following the case.