Two of the defendants in the 2002 Vadodara’s Best Bakery case, Harshad Raoji Bhai Solanki and Mafat Manilal Gohil, have been cleared by a Mumbai court.
The case concerns a Vadodara bakery that was set on fire by a crowd in the course of the 2002 Gujarat riots, which resulted in the deaths of 14 persons. Zaheera Sheikh, the daughter of the owner of the bakery, reported 21 persons to the police after the incident.
In this case, murder charges were brought against a total of 21 people. In this instance, Gujarat’s local court found everyone not guilty. The Supreme Court moved this case to Maharashtra to ensure a fair trial.
Nine persons were convicted guilty of murder and other crimes in 2006 and were sentenced to life in prison by a Mumbai court. Five of the nine defendants were cleared by the Bombay High Court in 2012, while the court upheld the sentencing for the other four.
Read Also: Education Officer Asks Ahmedabad International School To Stop ‘Discriminatory’ Programme
