Zaheera’s neighbour turns hostile

Jyotsnaben Bhatt, who lives in front of the burnt Best Bakery in Vadodara, was declared hostile on Monday by the Mazgaon court when she did ...

Jyotsnaben Bhatt, who lives in front of the burnt Best Bakery in Vadodara, was declared hostile on Monday by the Mazgaon court when she did not support the prosecution case.

Bhatt told the court on Monday that she had seen a mob of around 1,000 people shouting ‘‘Maro, maro’’. She also added that she had then immediately closed her door and went to attend to her ailing husband. Bhatt said her deposition in the fast-track court in Vadodara was correct, but she could not recall the same since she had given her testimony three years ago.

However, special public prosecutor Manjula Rao asked her to read out the statement she had made in the Vadodara court. The statement read that she had seen a mob of around 1,000 people, armed with swords, torches and sticks screaming ‘‘Maro, kato, jalao (Hit, kill, burn)’’.

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Also, in that earlier statement at Vadodara, she had mentioned that when she had opened her door the next morning, she saw the rioters tying up the hands of the bakery workers and assaulting them.

On Monday, she refused that the rioters had either been armed or had beaten up the workers. ‘‘The next morning, I only saw the police and all the houses were empty as people had left,’’ Bhatt countered.

Meanwhile, special judge Abhay Thipsay reserved the order on an application filed by defence lawyer Vinayak Bichhu. The defence had called for an inquiry into the changes in statements made by five other prosecution witnesses.

Police personnel seen to control the situation during a massive protest over the statehood demand and the inclusion of Ladakh under the Sixth Schedule, in Leh on Wednesday. (ANI Video Grab)

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