NEW DELHI, 17 August 2004 — The Supreme Court of India dealt a big blow yesterday to the Gujarat state government by appointing P.R. Vakil as new public prosecutor in the Best Bakery case in a Bombay court.

Vakil was one of the four public prosecutors suggested by the Maharashtra government. Earlier, the Gujarat government had appointed Atul Mehta as the public prosecutor.

On April 12, the court had directed shifting of the trial in the bakery massacre case outside Gujarat, but the trial could not commence since there was a dispute between Maharashtra and Gujarat states over appointing public prosecutor.

The court shifted the case outside Gujarat on an application by Zahira Shaikh, one of the survivors of the mob attack on the Best Bakery at Baroda during the post-Godhra riots in 2002. In the gruesome incident 14 people were killed, including nine family members of Zahira. The bakery attack was among the more grisly incidents in the riots, during which human rights groups say at least 2,000 people, mostly Muslims, were killed after a suspected Muslim mob torched a train, burning to death 59 Hindus.

A bench comprising judges Arijit Pasayat and H.K. Sema also appointed Manjula Rao as associate public prosecutor to assist Vakil in conducting the trial.

The bench asked the Gujarat government to explain within four weeks its steps against those intimidating witnesses in the case.

Finding that seven of the 21 accused had not yet surrendered before the trial court as per its April 12 judgment, the bench also issued notice to them asking why it should not start contempt proceedings against them for not surrendering before the trial court.

Meanwhile, Gujarat’s Director General of Police Arun Kumar stated in an affidavit that the process of attaching the properties of the seven absconding accused was on to secure their presence at the trial.

The affidavit was filed in response to a directive asking him to investigate the steps taken to arrest them.

The police chief said that despite sincere efforts by state police, the accused could not be arrested and the police, therefore, decided to attach their properties.

Ex-Police Chief Confesses Inaction

A former police chief yesterday admitted before a panel probing the 2002 sectarian violence in Gujarat that he could not act against erring police officials who allegedly disallowed complaints being lodged against violent mobs.

K. Chakraborty, then director general of police, told the commission headed by retired judges G.T Nanavati and K.G. Shah that he could not take action against the erring officials as he was busy controlling the law and order situation between Feb. 27 and March 6, 2002.

“Though I received complaints from many towns and villages across Gujarat that many officers had refused to entertain complaints from violence victims against Hindu attackers, I could not take action against them since there was no time for it,” said Chakraborty.

“I was too busy controlling law and order from Feb. 27 to March 6.”

Senior Advocate Mukul Sinha, who appeared for rights group Jan Sangharsh Manch before the commission, questioned Chakraborty.

When asked why he did not take action against the officials concerned later, Chakraborty said: “After March 6, the state government had already constituted the inquiry commission, and therefore I decided to leave the matter to the commission.”

Chakraborty’s statement assumes significance in light of then Ahmedabad Police Commissioner P.C. Pandey’s statement to a TV channel that lower-rung officers of Gujarat police had not carried out their responsibilities during the violence.

Pandey said this had happened as the officers’ mindset was influenced by public opinion.

Chakraborty also admitted to having met Chief Minister Narendra Modi on Feb 27. “The chief minister held a high-level meeting with senior state police officers. We discussed the train carnage in Godhra,” he said.