The Hindu : Front Page : Zahira was bribed to change statement: Yasmin

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, Nov 18, 2004

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Zahira was bribed to change statement: Yasmin

By Our Special Correspondent

MUMBAI, NOV. 17. Yasmin Sheikh, the fourth eyewitness to depose in the Best Bakery case, today admitted that she had told a private television channel in Vadodara last year that her sister-in-law, Zahira Sheikh, had been bribed to change her statement regarding the accused in the riots.

She told the court that Zahira had initially told the police and the court the truth, but had changed her mind later.

Meanwhile, Zahira's new lawyer, Harshad Ponda, told the court that Zahira, who was to testify today, was ready to depose on any day the prosecution wished to call her. Her brothers, Nafitullah and Nasibullah, were already here and ready to depose, he added.

In the cross-examination, the defence counsel, Adik Shirodkar, referred to an interview Yasmin had given to TNN, a private channel in Vadodara, which was aired on September 20, 2003. Mr. Shirodkar asked her if it was true that she said, in this interview, that the entire Best Bakery episode took place due to her husband, Nafitullah's relationship with another woman, Kailash Vasave. Yasmin denied this.

He then asked if she had said, in the same interview, that the accused named in the case were falsely implicated and the attackers were from outside.

At this point, the additional sessions judge, Abhay Thipsay, who is hearing the re-trial, asked about the relevance of these questions. He told the defence that such questions could only be put to Yasmin if she had actually made these statements. The defence then submitted the transcripts of her interview to the channel. The defence will seek permission from Mr. Thipsay to show the interview in court tomorrow.

Mr. Shirodkar said this interview was important to "damage the credibility" of the witness who had identified 11 accused in court yesterday with great confidence. He said the Best Bakery episode had nothing to do with Godhra but was a manifestation of a property dispute between the two wives (Yasmin and Kailash) of Nafitullah, Zahira's brother. "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned," quoted Mr. Shirodkar.

Yasmin admitted that Kailash was her husband's mistress. However, she denied she had told the TV channel that all the accused were innocent.

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