A key witness in the trial of 21 Hindus accused of massacring 14 Muslims during sectarian riots in Gujarat state in 2002 denied Wednesday media reports she took a bribe to change her testimony. Zaheera Sheikh, 23, was originally a star witness for the prosecution in the case against a mob of Hindus alleged to have methodically burned the Muslims at her family's Best Bakery in Baroda.
But after identifying 21 people allegedly involved in the massacre she changed her key testimony during the first trial last year, which later collapsed. That led to an order by the Supreme Court to move the case from Gujarat to neighbouring Maharashtra state for a retrial because of concerns of witness intimidation.
Sheikh appeared before the court in Bombay, capital of Maharastra, Wednesday as a hostile witness and said she was hiding on the top of her house when the neighbouring bakery was attacked and could not identify any of the accused.
At the same time, the Tehelka newspaper on Wednesday released a print story and video tape of secretly recorded conversations with some politicians, including Madhu Srivastava, a Hindu nationalist legislator in Gujarat, who said Zaheera had pestered him for money to change her testimony and that he eventually paid her.
Sheikh was paid 1.8 million rupees (38,300 dollars) to change her initial testimony, said Tehelka, which means sensation.
Srivastava denied the accusation in a statement to Aaj Tak television and confronted with the bribery charges in court Wednesday by the prosecutor, Zaheera was evasive.
"Nobody gives anything to anyone," she said after being told by the judge to answer the question. "I have sworn by Allah in the court. I will not speak lies. I have to show my face to him after death. How will I speak lies? I should also be told who has offered me this money."
Comments
Comments are closed.