Nafitullah Sheikh, brother of Zahira, a key witness in the infamous Best Bakery case of the 2002 Gujarat riots, told the Press Trust of India in Baroda on Thursday that renovation work being undertaken at the bakery by his first wife Yasminbanu was part of a conspiracy and the family would get a legal notice to stop it.

Asked how long it would take to approach the courts, and which court he would approach, Nafitullah said it would be decided by Zahira and his mother Sehrunissa in consultation with their advocate.

On Wednesday, Nafitullah's second wife Heena had said that Zahira and Sehrunissa had left for Delhi to approach the Supreme Court to stay the renovation.

But Nafitullah, who returned from Mumbai on Thursday after reportedly consulting Zahira and Sehrunissa on the plan to stop the renovation, declined to reveal anything on the subject.

He claimed that the bakery is owned by Sehrunissa and denied Yasminbanu's claim that he had consented to its renovation, saying he had not met her for the past 18 months.

He alleged that there was a conspiracy to grab the property. He refrained from naming anyone in the conspiracy, but wondered where Yasminbanu got the money for the work.

When told that Yasminbanu had said she had no shelter, Nafitullah alleged that she was not interested in staying in the Best Bakery premises. "She is doing it under pressure from vested interests," he said.

About Yasminbanu expressing a desire to be named as one of the witnesses in the riots case, he said his family had not prevented her from becoming a witness in the case. She had left them on her own to stay with her maternal uncle, he said.

To another query, Nafitullah said neither he nor any member of his family was interested in reviving the business in the same premises. "We will buy new premises to start business afresh," he said.

PTI