• Hounded by an image : Qutubuddin Ansari


    DIONNE BUNSHA

    The face of Gujarat riots has left. For the opposite end of the country – Kolkota.

    Qutubuddin Ansari’s face became the icon of the Gujarat riots. But being recognised has made life difficult for him. He fled to a place where he hopes he will be faceless.

    “The media has put such a big responsibility on me by making me the face of Gujarat. I can’t go anywhere in Ahmedabad. I’m scared. Wherever I go, people recognise me,” said Qutubuddin, at a press conference in Mumbai, just before he left for Kolkota. “It’s very difficult for me to lead an ordinary life. Everything is back to normal in Gujarat. But it’s not normal for me. When it is, I will go back.”
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  • ‘I want the case to be reopened’ : Zaheera


    Zahira Sheikh, the prime witness in the Best Bakery case, is the most visible and controversial riot victim from Gujarat. She has changed her stand thrice. After describing the massacre on her house in detail in her police statement and to the National Human Rights Commission, she turned hostile in the Vadodara Sessions court. The accused were convicted.
    Soon after, she appealed to the Supreme court asking for a re-trial outside Gujarat. She lied in court because she was threatened by local BJP MLA Madhu Shrivastav. During the re-trial in Mumbai, Zaheera turned hostile once again. In this interview with Zaheera just before she appealed to the Supreme court for a re-trial, she talked of the threats to her family and the risks of being a witness against the powerful.

    DIONNE BUNSHA
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