June 28, 2003	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 27,1424

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AHMEDABAD, June 27: An Indian court on Friday acquitted all 21 Hindus accused of burning a bakery with 12 Muslims inside in Gujarat in the first trial dating back to last year’s riots.

Judge H.U. Mahida ruled there was insufficient evidence for convictions after 35 of the 60 witnesses retracted their statements in court and some even claimed that the accused had saved their lives during the violence.

“This is not a fair judgment as witnesses were not reliable and seem to have been given money to go back on the statements they gave to police,” said a Muslim leader in Gujarat’s Vadodara city.—AFP