Indian court jails Gujarat riot witness for contempt

The testimony of Zahira Sheikh, whose family owned the bakery in the western state of Gujarat in which 14 people died after it was set ablaze by a mob, was seen as a test case of attempts to obtain justice for hundreds of Muslim victims of the rioting.

But Sheikh recanted on her statements in various courts, prompting the Supreme Court to investigate her actions.

"We find Zahira guilty of contempt of court," a two-bench decision by justices Arijit Pasayat and H.K Sema said.

Human rights groups say about 2,500 people -- mostly Muslims -- were killed in the Gujarat riots, some of the worst in India since independence in 1947, but official estimates put the figure at more than 1,000.