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Top Stories
'Best Bakery witness was
bribed to change stand'
What is India News Service,
Thursday, 23 December 2004, 1300 hrs IST
The Best Bakery carnage prime witness Zaheera Sheikh was threatened and paid Rs 18 lakh
to change her testimony that resulted in the acquittal of all the 21 accused in the massacre in Vadodara during 2002 Gujarat riots, according to a stunning sting operation carried out by the weekender Tehelka.
The weekly captured Madhu Shrivastav, his cousin and Vadodara Congress corporator Batthoo Srivastava, and several other prime players admitting that Rs 18 lakh was paid to Zaheera Sheikh and her family besides intimidating them.
Sheikh, whose sister and uncle were among those massacred in the Best Bakery, changed her stand in a Vadodara court, leading to the acquittal of all accused.
Later the case went up to Supreme Court which in an unprecedented order shifted the Best Bakery trial out of Gujarat to Mumbai. Zaheera came to Mumbai and claimed that she changed her stance because of threats by Madhu Srivastav, who is a close associate of Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and a member of the state legislature.
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi declined to comment on the expose and said any attempt to hinder the judicial process was regrettable.
Meanwhile, Zahira Sheikh denied accepting money from
Madhu Srivastav and said that she did not know him at all. RJD leader Lalu
Prasad Yadav said Modi
must quit.
PMO seeks to open Advani case again:
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) has directed the CBI to formulate grounds to file a revision petition against the discharge of Leader of the Opposition LK Advani in the Ayodhya case and also to examine "if there was any negligence on the part of any investigation and prosecution agency in not filing a revision petition on time".
Cases filed against RJD activists:
Twenty cases have been filed against Rashtriya Janata Dal activists for putting up illegal hoarding and banners in Patna.
The Election Commission will take "appropriate action" if allegations against RJD chief and Railway Minister Lalu
Prasad, vis-\E0-vis violation of the poll model code of conduct, are found to be true, Chief Election Commissioner
T
S Krishnamurthy said.
Fog disrupts air, rail traffic again:
A total of 51 trains either arrived late or were running late. The authorities also rescheduled 40 trains, as thick fog covered several parts of north India.
'No drift in India's policy on Pakistan':
Rejecting Opposition charge of drift in India's Pakistan policy, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh said the dialogue process was 'on track' and making 'progress
Sahitya Akademi award winners:
English author Upamanyu Chatterjee, Malayalam short story writer Paul Zachariah and Hindi poet Viren Dangwal are among the 22 winners of the Sahitya Akademi Awards for 2004.
Kalam calls for second Green Revolution:
President Abdul Kalam on Thursday played teacher to students of CSK Himachal Pradesh Agricultural University.
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Malaysian kidnapped in
Chennai; wife taken to another place: The incident of a Malaysian couple of Indian origin being conned by unidentified persons last week came to light on Tuesday with the wife lodging a police complaint that her husband had been
kidnapped.
States
PGI to have cancer research centre:
The PGIMER, Chandigarh, will soon have a regional cancer research centre, with world-class facilities for cancer research and treatment.
He kept fire of freedom aflame for 57 years:
A poor farmer of Assam kept aflame the straw-torch which he had lit at the stroke of midnight on August 14-15 in 1947.
Porn clip
accused granted bail: The court has asked the parent and the Delhi school boy to undergo counselling for one month.
N Karnataka theatres refuse to screen
film: Sectoral strife surfaced again in Kannada cinema, and North Karnataka theatres have threatened not to screen
a film directed by a prominent activist of the directors' ginger group.
Migratory
in Kashmir birds under threat: \93Take nothing but photographs. Leave nothing but footprints. Kill nothing but time\94. This message inscribed at the entry to Hokersar Wetlands, 10 km north of here, conveys volumes about the presence of the priceless natural treasure of migratory birds that throng the water reserve mainly during winter months.
Tourism industry on the upswing in Kashmir:
Tourist inflow this year has almost doubled over last year\92s and the government is trying to promote Kashmir as a winter holiday destination as well.
4,500 acres gobbled up in Bangalore:
About 4,500 acres of government land around Bangalore city is estimated to have been encroached by land sharks.
Neighbours
Zardari granted bail after re-arrest: A court on Wednesday granted bail to the husband of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, a day after he was arrested for failing to appear at a murder trial.
Aziz lays stress on inter-faith harmony:
Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz on Wednesday called for inter-faith harmony which he said was a pre-requisite for economic and social development.
India army chief in China:
India's Chief of Army Staff Gen N. C. Vij arrived in Shnghai on Wednesday, starting a week-long visit, the first in over a decade by the senior-most Indian defence official to
China.
View from abroad
Black day in UK's history of art? The "anti-Sikh" play's closure has prompted debate over minorities' free rein in policing the arts.
Overall
Tehelka sprang video surprise: It accused the prime witness in the
Best Bakery case of taking money and changing her testimony.
Fog disrupted air and rail traffic: North India is reeling under a
cold spell.
Vajpayee asked PM to move Shankaracharya out: He led an NDA delegation
which urged Manmohan Singh to stop Jayalalithaa from "persecuting" the
seer.
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