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Best Bakery Case: Mumbai Sessions Court Acquits 2 In 2002 Incident Which Killed 14

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A sessions court in Mumbai on Tuesday acquitted two persons for their role in the Best Bakery incident that took place during the 2002 Gujarat riots in which 14 persons died, including women and children. The duo Harshad Solanki and Mafat Gohil were absconding along with two other accused Jayantibhai Gohil and his son Ramesh Gohil and hence not available for a retrial ordered by the apex court in 2004.

The absconding accused other than Jayathibhai were arrested by the NIA in connection with the Ajmer bomb blast and later transferred his custody in this case. The father and son died during custody and only Solanki and Mafat Gohil remained to face retrial.

All 21 Accused Acquitted

The case had been remanded by the order of the apex court for a retrial in Maharashtra after the trial in a Gujarat sessions court had ended in the acquittal of all 21 accused in 2003, mostly due to hostile witnesses and lack of sufficient evidence. The Gujarat High Court too had upheld the decision of the trial court.

Case transferred out of Gujarat

One of the victims and an NGO had moved to the apex court in an appeal against the HC decision. The Supreme Court while directing a retrial and permitting further investigation in 2004, had observed in its order that the investigation was tainted and that the prosecution had examined relatives of the accused in support of its case. 

After the retrial against 17 persons, in 2006, the Mumbai sessions court had convicted nine persons and acquitted eight.  

What is Best Bakery Case?

The incident had taken place on Mar 1, 2002 between 8 and 9.30 pm and went on till morning of the next day. It happened during the Gujarat riots that broke out in the aftermath of the Godhra train burning in which two bogies of the Sabarmati Express in which karsevaks were travelling, were set on fire by a mob.

In the fateful incident at Best Bakery, a mob of 1,000 to 1,200 persons had marched towards the establishment. Seeing the mob, the members of the Habibulla Sheikh family that ran the establishment, ran to the building’s first floor and locked the door. The mob armed with lethal weapons like swords and torches attacked the bakery with soda bottles and bottles filled with kerosene set on fire while the victims were trapped in the Bakery building.

A godown containing timber in the basement of the building was set on fire too. Some men were allowed by the mob to come out, but then assaulted with swords and such weapons, being tied to poles. Women were taken behind the bushes with the intent of rape. Only four injured persons survived to narrate the incident. Among those who died, were three helps of the family – all of the same religion as the mobsters.

Maharashtra

Accused involved in smuggling “MD” and “MDMA Plus” drugs arrested in Mumbai.

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The Mumbai Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) has claimed the arrest of a drug dealer involved in MD smuggling, charging him under Sections 8(c) and 22(c) of the NDPS Act. The accused was apprehended in Jogeshwari after being spotted under suspicious circumstances. The following items were seized from his possession:
1) Three MDMA pills weighing a total of 2.04 grams (estimated value: ₹88,000)
2) MD (Mephedrone) weighing a total of 417 grams (estimated value: ₹1,25,10,000)
3) Fifty Indian currency notes of ₹500 denomination (total cash: ₹25,000)
4) One used Apple iPhone 15 (estimated value: ₹20,000)
*The total estimated value of the seized items is ₹1,26,43,000. On September 11, the Azad Maidan Unit of the ANC (Crime Branch) was patrolling the Jogeshwari area when they received credible information that an individual was selling drugs from his residence. Acting on this tip-off, the ANC team raided the suspect’s home and recovered the aforementioned contraband. Case property recovered during the personal search of the said individual: 1) Three “MDMA tablets” weighing a total of 2.04 grams (estimated value: Rs. 88,000); 2) “MD” drug weighing 210 grams (estimated value: Rs. 6,300,000); 3) One used Apple iPhone 15 (estimated value: Rs. 20,000). Case property recovered during the search of the said individual’s residence: 4) “MD” drug weighing 207 grams (estimated value: Rs. 6,210,000); 5) Fifty Indian currency notes of Rs. 500 denomination (total cash: Rs. 25,000). The total estimated value of the recovered case property is Rs. 12,643,000. The ANC squad (Azad Maidan Unit) has arrested the said individual and registered a case (Case No. 85/2026) under Sections 8(c) and 21(c) of the NDPS Act, 1985. This successful operation was carried out by Deven Bharti (Police Commissioner, Mumbai), Anil Kumbhare (Joint Commissioner of Police – Crime), Krishnakant Upadhyay (Additional Commissioner of Police – Crime), and Poornima Chougule-Shringi (Deputy Commissioner of Police, ANC Squad, Crime Branch).

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Maharashtra

Andheri: Former Company Driver Hatches Income Tax Raid Conspiracy; All 10 Gang Members Arrested for Demanding ₹1 Crore Weekly by Posing as Officials

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Mumbai: Police has unmasked a fake officer and gang who had raided an Income Tax office in Andheri, Mumbai, in the style of the movie Special 26, held the owner and employees hostage, snatched their mobile phones and held the staff hostage. According to the Income Tax and Crime Branch officials, the police have exposed the gang who had conducted a fake raid and demanded a salary of Rs 1 crore and have also claimed to have arrested the absconding accused. According to the brief details of the said case, there was a dispute between the complainant, Rajkumar Kandasamy, aged 49, who was previously employed as a driver by Santosh Uday Khopatkar and the complainant. Due to this, the complainant fired Santosh Khopatkar from his job without paying him 06 months’ salary. Angered by this, Santosh Uday Khopatkar, using the information he had about the complainant, along with 06 men and 3 women acquaintances, formed a criminal conspiracy and falsely claimed to be government officers and employees of the Income Tax and Crime Branch Department and illegally entered the office owned by the complainant. He also abducted the complainant and his wife by showing fake government identity cards and snatched the mobile phones of the complainant, his wife and 10 other employees of the office and illegally prevented them from leaving the office and abused them by threatening them with legal action by the Income Tax Department. Also, a sum of Rs. 1 crore was sought to avert the action. Therefore, the complainant filed a legal complaint against the above-mentioned unknown persons and after noting their detailed statement, a case was registered under Sections 61(2), 204, 205, 233, 140(2), 127(1), 351(2), 308(4) of the Indian Penal Code, 2023.

The accused in the said case have been arrested on the basis of technical investigation. The arrested accused are 1) Santosh Uday Khopatkar, aged 37 years, 2) Vinay Ramesh More, aged 37 years, 3) Prem Kisan Sabnani, aged 50 years, 4) Pragya Harish Main, aged 27 years, 5) Reshma Shamrao Waring, aged 41 years, 6) Shabnia Hafeez Sheikh, aged 48 years. During the interrogation of the said arrested accused, it was found that accused Nos. 7 and 8 out of the said accused are working in the Income Tax Department as Income Tax Inspector and Tax Assistant respectively and the said accused along with accused Nos. 02 to 06 and accused Nos. 09 and 10 went to the office of the complainant and on getting information about their involvement in the said criminal conspiracy, the said accused were searched and arrested in the present case on 10th September. The arrested accused include 7) Suresh Mahavir Prasad Mishra, aged 57 years (Income Tax Inspector)8) Sunil Manohar Gore, age 59 years (Tax Assistant)9) Jatu alias Jitendra Namdev More, age 52 years 10) Ashok Vithoba Shinde, age 57 years are involved. This operation has been carried out by DCP Datta Nalawade under the leadership of Mumbai Police Commissioner Devin Bharti and the accused have been arrested and the gang has been exposed. DCP Datta Nalawade said that earlier also 6 accused were arrested in the case but the Income Tax Inspector and Assistant were also involved in it after which today more absconding accused have been arrested and the entire gang has been cracked down on.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai: Criminal mobile thief arrested, mystery of three thefts solved

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Mumbai: Police has claimed to have recovered 09 mobile phones worth Rs 1,48,000/- from a criminal accused after uncovering 03 cases of mobile theft. On the complaint of the complainant on September 8, a case was registered at Park Site Police Station under Section 305(a) of the IPC 2023 for theft of mobile phones by entering a house. The police registered the said case and started investigation. Mumbai Police’s Nitin Jhade and his team traced the accused wanted in the case based on CCTV footage of the crime scene and its premises and technical information and arrested the accused Feroz Mohammad Shakeel Sheikh alias Choha, age 25, resident of Ambika Nagar Chal, Behind Ajwa Hotel, Upper Depot Para, Park Site, Vikhroli (West), Mumbai 79, who was on police record within 05 hours and registered a case under Section 305(a) BNS Crime No. 2 879/2026 Section 305(a) BNS
3) Crime No. 880/2026 Section 305(a) BNS
3) 03 cases were revealed. Similarly, 09 mobiles worth Rs. 1,48,000/- were recovered from the said accused after expert interrogation.

*The arrested accused Feroz Mohammad Shakeel Sheikh alias Choha, aged 25, has a total of 20 cases of theft, robbery, illegal possession of weapons registered in K-Park Site, Ghatkopar, Pant Nagar and Nirmal Nagar police stations.

The said operation was carried out under the guidance of Devin Bharti, Commissioner of Police, Mumbai, Manoj Sharma, Joint Commissioner of Police (Law and Order), Dhananjay Kulkarni, Additional Commissioner of Police, Eastern Regional Department, Chembur, Mumbai, Shri Abhay Singh Deshmukh, Deputy Commissioner of Police, East, Senior Police Inspector in-charge, Park Site Police Station, Mumbai, Ashok Lange, Assistant Police Inspector Nitin Jhade, Police Sub-Inspector Akshay Wagh, Police Havildar Vishal Goare, Police Havildar Rahul Navale, Police Constable Manoj Sarwade, Police Constable Rohidas Bhosare, Police Constable Deepak Tade.

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