Prosecutors named for riot case

The Muslims were burnt alive inside the bakery

India's Supreme Court has named two new public prosecutors for the retrial of a controversial Gujarat state riot case.

PR Vakil and Manjula Rao will act for victims in the Best Bakery case in the town of Baroda, where 12 Muslims were burned to death by a Hindu mob in 2002.

Earlier this year the Supreme Court ordered a fresh investigation into the case and a retrial to be heard in neighbouring Maharashtra state.

It followed the acquittal of 21 Hindus accused of killing the Muslims.

Witness intimidation

Appointing the lawyers, the court said public prosecutors should enjoy the trust of the victims and the witnesses.

Representatives of the victims say they are pleased with the decision of the court.

The Gujarat riots deeply divided Hindus and Muslims living in the state

The Supreme Court also gave the Gujarat government a month to let it know what steps it had taken against people said to be intimidating witnesses in the case.

The Best Bakery case, after the bakery in the city of Baroda where the Muslims were killed, is often cited by human rights groups as evidence that victims of the Gujarat riots received little justice.

More than 1,000 people, mainly Muslims, died in the 2002 riots, which took place after a suspected Muslim mob attacked a train, killing nearly 60 Hindu passengers.

In April the Supreme Court ordered that a retrial in the case should take place in neighbouring Maharashtra state, following a demand for a new trial by India's Human Rights Commission.

The acquittals in the original case took place after many witnesses withdrew their evidence - later a key witness said she had lied in court and not testified against the accused because she said she had been threatened by senior Gujarati politicians.

The Gujarat riots deeply divided Hindus and Muslims living in the state and left a deep scar on the Muslim minority.

Human rights groups and independent organisations accused the state government, run by the Hindu nationalist BJP, of doing little to stop the riots.