Wednesday, August 3 2005 20:25 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Ahmedabad: Zaheera Sheikh, key witness in the Best Bakery case, today (August 3, 2005) maintained before the Godhra inquiry commission, that she had not filed any affidavit before it while accusing Mumbai-based social activist Teesta Setalvad of "keeping her in confinement and provoking her to name innocent persons as accused in the case."

Zaheera appeared before the Commission, probing the Godhra train carnage, for cross-examination without her advocate Atul Mistri, after getting several warnings for the panel for failing to appear before it.

Zaheera, a survivor and crucial eyewitness of the Bakery carnage, maintained she had not filed any affidavit before the Commission but admitted that the signature on the affidavit dated May 20, 2002 was hers.

During the cross-examination by advocate Mukul Sinha, she said that she was "coaxed" and taken to the Vadodara circuit house by three persons at the behest of Setalvad and also "made" to sign court documents, but denied that she had filed any affidavit.

In the affidavit, Zaheera describes the entire attack by violent crowd on the bakery and has also named seven of the accused persons who were part of the rioters who attacked their premises on March one, 2002.

To a question by Sinha as to who were the three persons and at whose behest they were working, Zaheera named them as Mohammed Vora, Munna Mallik and Arif Mallik and that they were following instructions of Setalvad.