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This is an archive article published on April 6, 2005

Apex probe to begin today

The high-powered committee set up by the Supreme Court to examine the veracity of allegations and counter-allegations made by Best Bakery ca...

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The high-powered committee set up by the Supreme Court to examine the veracity of allegations and counter-allegations made by Best Bakery case key witness Zaheera Shaikh and social activist Teesta Setalvad will begin its probe from tomorrow.

Sources said today that the committee headed by registrar general of the Apex court B.M. Gupta, who co-opted Delhi Police Joint Commissioner Kanwaljit Deol as a member, has given notice to the lawyers of both parties to appear before it tomorrow.

Faced with doubts created by Zahira not only about her own statements but also about Setalvad’s credentials, the court on January 10, had ordered a high-level probe to find out in four months as to who was telling the truth.

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Conceding that the situation was ‘‘delicate’’, a bench comprising Justice Arijit Pasayat and Justice H.K. Sema had directed registrar general of the SC to take the help of a IG rank official from Delhi police and conduct a probe about the basis of the statements of Shaikh and the affidavits filed by Setalvad in SC.

While Shaikh has retracted from her statement time and again, alleging during her last turnaround that she was held captive by Setalvad who minted money by selling the Bakery case abroad, the activist-lawyer alleged that the local VHP and BJP leaders in Vadodara lured her through huge amount of money to change her statement.

The Apex Court, which had ordered transfer of the trial from Gujarat to Mumbai and quashed the acquittal of the 21 accused in the Bakery case, was in a piquant situation to find that no affidavit signed by Shaikh was presented before it in the entire period when it dealt with the case.

The bench had said ‘‘we are of the considered view that a detailed inquiry is necessary to ascertain if Zahira was telling the truth and which version of her is the truthful account of what she has allegedly seen or not seen.’’

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‘‘Various documents placed to show she made departure from her statements made in the past. Allegations have been made that she had been threatened and bullied by Teesta. On the other hand, allegations were made that Zahira was threatened and lured to change her statement,’’ it had said.

Zaheera’s counsel had accused Setalvad of misleading the court by filing affidavits on her own showing it to be Zahira’s and said there should be a probe into the number of foreign trips made by Setalvad and the money earned by her from selling the documents prepared by her on Best case.

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