Tag: Teesta Setalvad

  • Relief to Teesta Setalvad: Supreme Court grants bail to activist in post-Godhra riots cases

    By Online Desk

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in cases linked to the post-2002 Godhra riots in Gujaray. The apex court said that since the chargesheet has been filed, no custodial interrogation was necessary.

    The court said that the activist would be treated as on continuous bail since September 2, 2022 but ordered her not to influence witnesses. 

    The bench also gave the Gujarat police permission to directly move the SC if any attempt is made to influence witnesses.

    Setalvad was taken into custody on June 25 last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case registered by the Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases.

    The Supreme Court also set aside July 1 order of Gujarat HC that asked activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender in case linked to post-Godhra riots.

    Setalvad, a vocal critic of the then Gujarat government, was released from jail in September last year after she received interim bail from the Supreme Court.

    The Supreme Court on Wednesday granted regular bail to activist Teesta Setalvad in cases linked to the post-2002 Godhra riots in Gujaray. The apex court said that since the chargesheet has been filed, no custodial interrogation was necessary.

    The court said that the activist would be treated as on continuous bail since September 2, 2022 but ordered her not to influence witnesses. 

    The bench also gave the Gujarat police permission to directly move the SC if any attempt is made to influence witnesses.googletag.cmd.push(function() {googletag.display(‘div-gpt-ad-8052921-2’); });

    Setalvad was taken into custody on June 25 last year along with former Gujarat Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case registered by the Ahmedabad crime branch police for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the post-Godhra riots cases.

    The Supreme Court also set aside July 1 order of Gujarat HC that asked activist Teesta Setalvad to surrender in case linked to post-Godhra riots.

    Setalvad, a vocal critic of the then Gujarat government, was released from jail in September last year after she received interim bail from the Supreme Court.

  • SIT files charge sheet against Teesta Setalvad, two others in Gujarat riots case

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A special investigation team (SIT) on Wednesday submitted a charge sheet against activist Teesta Setalvad, retired Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Investigating Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Police B V Solanki told PTI that the charge sheet was filed in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate here.

    Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Rahul Sharma has also been made a witness in the case, he added.

    The crime branch FIR reportedly states that the trio abused the process of law by conspiring to fabricate evidence in an attempt to frame innocent people for an offence punishable with capital punishment in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The accused have been charged under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) of the IPC, among other provisions.

    ALSO READ | 2002 Gujarat riots: Activist Teesta Setalvad walks out of jail after over two months

    Setalvad, arrested in the last week of June, was released on interim bail following a September 2 order of the Supreme Court.

    Sreekumar remains lodged in the jail in the case.

    The third accused, Bhatt is in a jail in Palanpur where he is serving life sentence in a custodial death case.

    AHMEDABAD: A special investigation team (SIT) on Wednesday submitted a charge sheet against activist Teesta Setalvad, retired Director General of Police R B Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Investigating Officer and Assistant Commissioner of Police B V Solanki told PTI that the charge sheet was filed in the court of the chief metropolitan magistrate here.

    Former IPS officer-turned-lawyer Rahul Sharma has also been made a witness in the case, he added.

    The crime branch FIR reportedly states that the trio abused the process of law by conspiring to fabricate evidence in an attempt to frame innocent people for an offence punishable with capital punishment in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The accused have been charged under sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence) and 218 (public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture) of the IPC, among other provisions.

    ALSO READ | 2002 Gujarat riots: Activist Teesta Setalvad walks out of jail after over two months

    Setalvad, arrested in the last week of June, was released on interim bail following a September 2 order of the Supreme Court.

    Sreekumar remains lodged in the jail in the case.

    The third accused, Bhatt is in a jail in Palanpur where he is serving life sentence in a custodial death case.

  • 2002 Gujarat riots: SC grants interim bail to Teesta Setalvad

    Express News Service

    NEW DELHI: After almost two months of incarceration, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad who has been accused of allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high state officials in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The bench of CJI UU Lalit, Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia has also directed for producing her tomorrow before the Magistrate and releasing her on conditions which the trial court deems appropriate. She has been asked to surrender her passport till the matter is heard by the Gujarat HC and ensure complete cooperation.

    Considering Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s contention that it would be difficult for her to get surety, the court has also asked the trial court to consider granting her bail on submission of cash surety rather than local surety.

    “Entire matter on merits shall be considered by the HC independently and uninfluenced by any of the observations made in this order. It is further made clear that relief has been granted in a peculiar case and that she happens to be a lady. This shall not be used by other accused as and when the occasion arises,” the court has also noted in its order.

    Appearing for Teesta, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had submitted that the facts in the FIR were nothing but recitation of the proceedings which ended with judgement and order dated June 24, 2022. It was also Sibal’s contention that the offence against the Teesta was not even made out and as such there was prima facie case in favour of the appellant. He had also stressed the fact that she was in custody for more than 2 months and was thus entitled to the relief of interim bail during the pendency of application before the Gujarat High Court.

    “I have not alleged the judge, judiciary. I’m not doing anything. I don’t expect this from a law officer. This is all motivated. Even if they are typed, how can forgery come into this? If forgery comes then the person who complains of forgery must come to court. But the state is coming here and saying. This is malicious and motivated and what I did was in the larger interest of the public. This has led to my incarceration. These affidavits have been filed in some other cases,” Sibal further asserted.

    Opposing Teesta’s bail, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State of Gujarat submitted that since her plea challenging the rejection of bail was pending before the Gujarat High Court, the matter must be allowed to be considered by the High Court. He further contended that apart from the FIR, there was additional evidence that pointed towards the involvement of Teesta.

    Stressing on the allegations of falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses which were levelled against her, SG said, “Allegations is a falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses, that’s precise which we are investigating. Your lordship has seen the nature of the conspiracy. It’s not ending with the petitioner. It’s starting with the petitioner. These are powerful people involved. This has been going on since 2002. Maligning campaigns has to be stopped.” To further substantiate his contention, Mehta also referred to some statements recorded by the Magistrate under section 164 of CrPC which prima facie pointed towards the fact that there was not some misunderstanding but a calculated conspiracy to achieve a particular goal.

    Yesterday, the bench asked the State of Gujarat what kind of additional material could the state gather by keeping Teesta Setalvad in custody for two months.

    “Has there been some additional material apart from the SC judgment? In the last 2 months, have you filed any charge sheet or something? We want to know what kind of material you have gathered within 2 months. Lady has completed more than 2 months of custody, is there anything which has been elicited out of custodial interrogation and today as the thing stands, FIR is nothing more than what has emerged in court,” CJI UU Lalit said.

    Frowning upon the Gujarat HC’s August 3rd order of fixing a long date in her plea assailing the lower court’s order rejecting her bail, the bench also comprising Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “Give us instances, where a lady was accused in similar situations & HC, has issued notice returnable within six weeks. Is this standard practice in the State of Gujarat?”

    The top judge was of the opinion that the FIR registered by Anti-Terrorism Squad, Gujarat was nothing but what the top court had said in Zakia Jafri’s judgment.

    Within 24 hours of the SC dismissing the petition preferred by Zakia Jafri for a probe into a larger conspiracy case behind the riots, Gujarat ATS had arrested Teesta in FIR registered u/s 468, 471, 194, 211 and 120 B of IPC against her, Mr Sanjiv Bhatt and Mr RB Sreekumar.

    Before the SC, Teesta had challenged order(s) dated July 30 passed by the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad of rejecting her bail and August 3, 2022, passed by Gujarat HC of fixing a long date in plea assailing lower court’s order.

    She had argued in the petition that she strongly believed that she had been targeted by the State for raising critical issues before the Apex Court challenging the administration and providing support to the victims of riots.

    NEW DELHI: After almost two months of incarceration, the Supreme Court on Friday granted interim bail to Teesta Setalvad who has been accused of allegedly fabricating false evidence to implicate high state officials in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The bench of CJI UU Lalit, Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia has also directed for producing her tomorrow before the Magistrate and releasing her on conditions which the trial court deems appropriate. She has been asked to surrender her passport till the matter is heard by the Gujarat HC and ensure complete cooperation.

    Considering Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal’s contention that it would be difficult for her to get surety, the court has also asked the trial court to consider granting her bail on submission of cash surety rather than local surety.

    “Entire matter on merits shall be considered by the HC independently and uninfluenced by any of the observations made in this order. It is further made clear that relief has been granted in a peculiar case and that she happens to be a lady. This shall not be used by other accused as and when the occasion arises,” the court has also noted in its order.

    Appearing for Teesta, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal had submitted that the facts in the FIR were nothing but recitation of the proceedings which ended with judgement and order dated June 24, 2022. It was also Sibal’s contention that the offence against the Teesta was not even made out and as such there was prima facie case in favour of the appellant. He had also stressed the fact that she was in custody for more than 2 months and was thus entitled to the relief of interim bail during the pendency of application before the Gujarat High Court.

    “I have not alleged the judge, judiciary. I’m not doing anything. I don’t expect this from a law officer. This is all motivated. Even if they are typed, how can forgery come into this? If forgery comes then the person who complains of forgery must come to court. But the state is coming here and saying. This is malicious and motivated and what I did was in the larger interest of the public. This has led to my incarceration. These affidavits have been filed in some other cases,” Sibal further asserted.

    Opposing Teesta’s bail, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta for the State of Gujarat submitted that since her plea challenging the rejection of bail was pending before the Gujarat High Court, the matter must be allowed to be considered by the High Court. He further contended that apart from the FIR, there was additional evidence that pointed towards the involvement of Teesta.

    Stressing on the allegations of falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses which were levelled against her, SG said, “Allegations is a falsification of evidence, cooking up witnesses, that’s precise which we are investigating. Your lordship has seen the nature of the conspiracy. It’s not ending with the petitioner. It’s starting with the petitioner. These are powerful people involved. This has been going on since 2002. Maligning campaigns has to be stopped.” To further substantiate his contention, Mehta also referred to some statements recorded by the Magistrate under section 164 of CrPC which prima facie pointed towards the fact that there was not some misunderstanding but a calculated conspiracy to achieve a particular goal.

    Yesterday, the bench asked the State of Gujarat what kind of additional material could the state gather by keeping Teesta Setalvad in custody for two months.

    “Has there been some additional material apart from the SC judgment? In the last 2 months, have you filed any charge sheet or something? We want to know what kind of material you have gathered within 2 months. Lady has completed more than 2 months of custody, is there anything which has been elicited out of custodial interrogation and today as the thing stands, FIR is nothing more than what has emerged in court,” CJI UU Lalit said.

    Frowning upon the Gujarat HC’s August 3rd order of fixing a long date in her plea assailing the lower court’s order rejecting her bail, the bench also comprising Justices SR Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia said, “Give us instances, where a lady was accused in similar situations & HC, has issued notice returnable within six weeks. Is this standard practice in the State of Gujarat?”

    The top judge was of the opinion that the FIR registered by Anti-Terrorism Squad, Gujarat was nothing but what the top court had said in Zakia Jafri’s judgment.

    Within 24 hours of the SC dismissing the petition preferred by Zakia Jafri for a probe into a larger conspiracy case behind the riots, Gujarat ATS had arrested Teesta in FIR registered u/s 468, 471, 194, 211 and 120 B of IPC against her, Mr Sanjiv Bhatt and Mr RB Sreekumar.

    Before the SC, Teesta had challenged order(s) dated July 30 passed by the City Civil and Sessions Court, Ahmedabad of rejecting her bail and August 3, 2022, passed by Gujarat HC of fixing a long date in plea assailing lower court’s order.

    She had argued in the petition that she strongly believed that she had been targeted by the State for raising critical issues before the Apex Court challenging the administration and providing support to the victims of riots.

  • Apex court questions delayed listing of teesta plea

    By Express News Service

    NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Thursday wondered why the Gujarat High Court has listed the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad for hearing on September 19, six weeks after it sent a notice to the state government seeking a response to her application, and asked the state to inform it by 2 pm on Friday about whether such a precedent existed there.     

    A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia posted the plea of Setalvad for further hearing on Friday. Setalvad was arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    “We will hear this case tomorrow at 2 pm. Give us instances where a lady accused in such cases has got such dates from high court. Either this lady has been made an exception….How can the court give this date? Is this standard practice in Gujarat?” an apparently displeased CJI said.

    The Gujarat High Court had on August 3 issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the matter for hearing on September 19. An Ahmedabad sessions court had on July 30 rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar in the case, saying that if they were released, it will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar, both arrested in June, are accused of fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the post-Godhra riots cases of 2002. They are lodged in the Sabarmati central jail. 

    NEW DELHI:  The Supreme Court on Thursday wondered why the Gujarat High Court has listed the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad for hearing on September 19, six weeks after it sent a notice to the state government seeking a response to her application, and asked the state to inform it by 2 pm on Friday about whether such a precedent existed there.     

    A bench comprising Chief Justice Uday Umesh Lalit and justices S Ravindra Bhat and Sudhanshu Dhulia posted the plea of Setalvad for further hearing on Friday. Setalvad was arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    “We will hear this case tomorrow at 2 pm. Give us instances where a lady accused in such cases has got such dates from high court. Either this lady has been made an exception….How can the court give this date? Is this standard practice in Gujarat?” an apparently displeased CJI said.

    The Gujarat High Court had on August 3 issued a notice to the state government on the bail plea of Setalvad and fixed the matter for hearing on September 19. An Ahmedabad sessions court had on July 30 rejected the bail applications of Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar in the case, saying that if they were released, it will send a message to wrongdoers that a person can level allegations with impunity and get away with it.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar, both arrested in June, are accused of fabricating evidence to frame “innocent people” in the post-Godhra riots cases of 2002. They are lodged in the Sabarmati central jail. 

  • Teesta Setalvad moves SC for bail in Gujarat riots case, hearing on Aug 22

    By ANI

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 22 a plea by activist Teesta Setalvad seeking interim bail in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli posted the matter for hearing before a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on August 22 after advocate Aparna Bhat mentioned the case for urgent listing.

    “Upon being mentioned by Aparna Bhat, Advocate on Record for the petitioner seeking urgent listing of the matter, the Registry is directed to list the matter on August 22, 2022, before a Bench presided over by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit,” the bench in its order stated.

    Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court.

    On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

    ALSO READ | Teesta Setalvad arrest keeps Godhra pot boiling

    They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

    The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.

    The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri had challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.

    The SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by activist Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling. 

    NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on August 22 a plea by activist Teesta Setalvad seeking interim bail in a case in which she was arrested for allegedly fabricating documents to frame innocent people in 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    A bench of Chief Justice NV Ramana and Justices JK Maheshwari and Hima Kohli posted the matter for hearing before a bench headed by Justice UU Lalit on August 22 after advocate Aparna Bhat mentioned the case for urgent listing.

    “Upon being mentioned by Aparna Bhat, Advocate on Record for the petitioner seeking urgent listing of the matter, the Registry is directed to list the matter on August 22, 2022, before a Bench presided over by Justice Uday Umesh Lalit,” the bench in its order stated.

    Setalvad has approached the top court against the August 3 order of the Gujarat High Court which issued notice to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) seeking its response to bail applications filed by Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and posted the hearing on September 19.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar had approached the High Court after their bail applications were rejected by the Ahmedabad city sessions court.

    On July 30, the Ahmedabad sessions court refused to grant bail to Setalvad and Sreekumar while noting that the accused appeared to have aimed to “destabilise” the Gujarat government and defame the state for their ulterior motives.

    ALSO READ | Teesta Setalvad arrest keeps Godhra pot boiling

    They were arrested by the Ahmedabad Police Crime Branch on June 25 on the basis of a First Information Report (FIR) registered against them under sections 468 (forgery for cheating) and 194 (fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offences) of the Indian Penal Code.

    The Special Investigation Team (SIT) formed to probe the case has alleged that Setalvad and Sreekumar were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the then Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government led by Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt is also an accused in the case.

    The FIR against Setalvad, Sreekumar, and Bhatt was registered after the Supreme Court had on June 24 dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the SIT to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several others in 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during the violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. Zakia Jafri had challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was the Gujarat Chief Minister during the riots in the State.

    The SIT in the apex court had opposed the plea of Jafri saying there is a sinister plot behind the complaint to probe the “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 Gujarat riots and the original complaint by Jafri was directed by activist Teesta Setalvad, who levelled allegations just to keep the pot boiling. 

  • Gujarat court quashes bail plea of Teesta Setalvad, Sreekumar in ‘fabrication of evidence’ case

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: A sessions court in Ahmedabad on Saturday refused bail to activist Teesta Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar, arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Additional principal judge D D Thakkar said that both the bail applications were being rejected.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested by the city crime branch around a month ago on the basis of a First Information Report registered against them under Indian Penal Code sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence).

    The Special Investigation Team formed to probe the case alleged that the duo were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the Gujarat government led by then chief minister Narendra Modi.

    Setalvad was paid Rs 30 lakh at Patel’s behest soon after the Godhra train burning incident of 2002, the SIT alleged.

    Sreekumar was a “disgruntled government officer” who “abused the process for damning the elected representatives, bureaucracy and police administration of the whole state of Gujarat for ulterior purposes”, the SIT claimed.

    AHMEDABAD: A sessions court in Ahmedabad on Saturday refused bail to activist Teesta Setalvad and former Director General of Police R B Sreekumar, arrested for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent people in the 2002 Gujarat riots cases.

    Additional principal judge D D Thakkar said that both the bail applications were being rejected.

    Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested by the city crime branch around a month ago on the basis of a First Information Report registered against them under Indian Penal Code sections 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence).

    The Special Investigation Team formed to probe the case alleged that the duo were part of a larger conspiracy carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel to destabilise the Gujarat government led by then chief minister Narendra Modi.

    Setalvad was paid Rs 30 lakh at Patel’s behest soon after the Godhra train burning incident of 2002, the SIT alleged.

    Sreekumar was a “disgruntled government officer” who “abused the process for damning the elected representatives, bureaucracy and police administration of the whole state of Gujarat for ulterior purposes”, the SIT claimed.

  • Gujarat riots case: Ahmedabad court defers order on bail pleas of Teesta Setalvad, Sreekumar

    By ANI

    AHMEDABAD: An Ahmedabad court, which reserved its order on the bail applications of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP RB Sreekumar last week in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, deferred the judgement to Thursday.

    Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order and was likely to pronounce the judgement Tuesday or on Wednesday.

    The Gujarat Police Crime Branch on June 26 had arrested Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case against her NGO which gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

    The SIT had filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.

    An SIT report, earlier this month, revealed that Teesta, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, the then political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with RB Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

    SIT ACP BC Solanki and Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel had filed an affidavit in the sessions court against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from the Congress.

    A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi. According to the SIT, Zakia Jafri was used as a tool by Teesta.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. 

    AHMEDABAD: An Ahmedabad court, which reserved its order on the bail applications of activist Teesta Setalvad and former DGP RB Sreekumar last week in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, deferred the judgement to Thursday.

    Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order and was likely to pronounce the judgement Tuesday or on Wednesday.

    The Gujarat Police Crime Branch on June 26 had arrested Teesta Setalvad in connection with a case against her NGO which gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

    The SIT had filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.

    An SIT report, earlier this month, revealed that Teesta, Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakh from late Congress leader Ahmed Patel, the then political advisor to Sonia Gandhi, to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with RB Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

    SIT ACP BC Solanki and Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel had filed an affidavit in the sessions court against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from the Congress.

    A metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulberg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi. According to the SIT, Zakia Jafri was used as a tool by Teesta.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra railway station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. 

  • ‘Setalvad was part of conspiracy to frame then-Gujarat CM Modi in 2002 riots cases’, claims SIT 

    By PTI

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others as accused in the post-Godhra riots cases, and attempted to destabilize the BJP government using funds collected in the name of victims, a state SIT told a court on Wednesday.

    Setalvad was arrested last month by the Ahmedabad crime branch along with former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in the 2002 riots cases.

    The Mumbai-based activist, currently in jail in Gujarat, has sought bail.

    A special investigation team (SIT) of the Gujarat police, probing the charges against Setalvad and the two former police officers, has opposed her bail plea.

    Arguing against the bail plea of Setalvad, special public prosecutor (SPP) Mitesh Amin told the court of sessions judge DD Thakkar in Ahmedabad that she was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-chief minister Modi and others as accused in the riots cases.

    Amin told the court Setalvad received funds on the ground they were meant to be distributed among the victims of the 2002 riots, but the money never reached the intended beneficiaries.

    The SPP claimed the money never reached the victims, and it was rather used to destabilise the then-BJP government and show it engineered and sponsored the riots, which were triggered after a mob torched a coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station on February 27, 2002, leading to the death of 59 passengers.

    The conspiracy involved Congress leaders like the late Ahmed Patel and others, and all this was done at the behest of the opposition party, he said.

    Further arguments will continue on Thursday.

    The court is hearing the bail pleas of both Setalvad and Sreekumar.

    They have already refuted all the charges levelled against them and claimed there was no merit in them.

    READ HERE | Chimanlal Setalvad did not give clean chit to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Historians

    Setalvad, along with Sreekumar and Bhatt, was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 468 (forgery) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence), among other offences after arrest.

    The SIT, in its affidavit submitted before the court last week, had accused Setalvad of conspiring with the two other accused — Sreekumar and Bhatt — for “dismissal or destabilisation of the elected government in Gujarat by hook or by crook.

    ” Opposing her bail plea, the SIT said in the affidavit that the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Patel.

    At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after the post-Godhra riots, the probe team alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases”, the SIT further claimed in the affidavit.

    Last month, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, killed during the riots in Ahmedabad.

    The plea alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

    But the court upheld a previous SIT’s clean chit to Modi (who was Gujarat CM from 2001 to 2014) and 63 others.

    The apex court had said there is no “title of material” to support the allegation that the communal violence that took place after the Godhra train burning incident was a “pre-planned event” owing to a conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state.

    Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society during the violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident.

    The central government had informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the statewide riots.

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others as accused in the post-Godhra riots cases, and attempted to destabilize the BJP government using funds collected in the name of victims, a state SIT told a court on Wednesday.

    Setalvad was arrested last month by the Ahmedabad crime branch along with former DGP RB Sreekumar and ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for allegedly fabricating evidence to frame innocent persons in the 2002 riots cases.

    The Mumbai-based activist, currently in jail in Gujarat, has sought bail.

    A special investigation team (SIT) of the Gujarat police, probing the charges against Setalvad and the two former police officers, has opposed her bail plea.

    Arguing against the bail plea of Setalvad, special public prosecutor (SPP) Mitesh Amin told the court of sessions judge DD Thakkar in Ahmedabad that she was part of a larger conspiracy to frame the then-chief minister Modi and others as accused in the riots cases.

    Amin told the court Setalvad received funds on the ground they were meant to be distributed among the victims of the 2002 riots, but the money never reached the intended beneficiaries.

    The SPP claimed the money never reached the victims, and it was rather used to destabilise the then-BJP government and show it engineered and sponsored the riots, which were triggered after a mob torched a coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station on February 27, 2002, leading to the death of 59 passengers.

    The conspiracy involved Congress leaders like the late Ahmed Patel and others, and all this was done at the behest of the opposition party, he said.

    Further arguments will continue on Thursday.

    The court is hearing the bail pleas of both Setalvad and Sreekumar.

    They have already refuted all the charges levelled against them and claimed there was no merit in them.

    READ HERE | Chimanlal Setalvad did not give clean chit to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Historians

    Setalvad, along with Sreekumar and Bhatt, was booked under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 468 (forgery) and 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital offence), among other offences after arrest.

    The SIT, in its affidavit submitted before the court last week, had accused Setalvad of conspiring with the two other accused — Sreekumar and Bhatt — for “dismissal or destabilisation of the elected government in Gujarat by hook or by crook.

    ” Opposing her bail plea, the SIT said in the affidavit that the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Patel.

    At Patel’s behest, Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh after the post-Godhra riots, the probe team alleged.

    Setalvad used to meet the leaders of a “prominent national party in power at that time in Delhi to implicate names of senior leaders of the BJP government in riot cases”, the SIT further claimed in the affidavit.

    Last month, the Supreme Court had dismissed a plea filed by Zakia Jafri, whose husband Ehsan Jafri, a former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, killed during the riots in Ahmedabad.

    The plea alleged a “larger conspiracy” behind the 2002 riots in Gujarat.

    But the court upheld a previous SIT’s clean chit to Modi (who was Gujarat CM from 2001 to 2014) and 63 others.

    The apex court had said there is no “title of material” to support the allegation that the communal violence that took place after the Godhra train burning incident was a “pre-planned event” owing to a conspiracy hatched at the highest level in the state.

    Ehsan Jafri was among the 68 people killed at Ahmedabad’s Gulberg Society during the violence on February 28, 2002, a day after the Godhra train burning incident.

    The central government had informed the Rajya Sabha in May 2005 that 790 Muslims and 254 Hindus were killed in the statewide riots.

  • Chimanlal Setalvad did not give clean chit to Gen Dyer for Jallianwala Bagh massacre: Historians

    By PTI

    NEW DELHI: Activist Teesta Setalvad’s great-grandfather Chimanlal Setalvad, a member of the Hunter Commission probing the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was not party to the panel’s verdict and gave a dissenting judgment holding Gen Reginald Dyer responsible, say historians.

    Social media posts, with thousands of likes and retweets, recently claimed Chimanlal Setalvad, one of the three Indians on the seven-member panel, was among those who gave a “clean chit” to Dyer for his actions that fateful April 13, 1919 day.

    But that is not true, countered historian Chaman Lal.

    “The Hunter Commission had British as well as Indian members. The Indian members gave a separate dissenting report in which they blamed not only Dyer but also Michael O’Dwyer — then lieutenant governor of Punjab — for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre,” Lal told PTI.

    “The Indian members report, called the ‘minority report’, was a very strongly worded one,” Lal added.

    He stressed that Setalvad, a “learned member of the Hunter Commission”, did not give a “clean chit” to the perpetrators of the Amritsar massacre.

    British historian Kim Wagner’s 2019 book “Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre” backs Lal’s submission.

    It says the minority report criticised Dyer’s action “more strongly” than the majority report.

    Quoting from the minority report, it says the Indian members described the firing at the Jallianwala Bagh as “inhuman and un-British”, even comparing it to the atrocities by German military officers in Belgium and France in 1914.

    The issue of the Hunter Commission and Setalvad’s role came back into the spotlight with several verified social media accounts, including that of RSS-affiliated magazine ‘Organiser Weekly’ and senior journalist Kanchan Gupta, attacking him.

    “Did you know? Fraud activist #TeestaSetalvad is great-granddaughter of Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad. C.H.Setalvad was a member of the #HunterCommission’ on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Hunter Commission gave a clean chit to General Dyer who ordered the firing on civilians,” tweeted Organiser Weekly.

    READ HERE | India rejects UN rights official’s remark on Teesta Setalvad’s arrest

    A similar post, tweeted by Kanchan Gupta, currently a senior advisor in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, generated almost 9,200 likes and over 4,250 retweets.

    The posts followed the arrest of Teesta Setalvad in June for allegedly submitting false evidence in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.

    A 100 yrs ago, a brute firing on close to 2,000 peaceful protesters, by d ‘Butcher of Punjab’ Dyer exposed d designs of a colonial regime. How mch hve police attitudes been made accountable? Jagat Narain Singh, Sultan Ahmed & Chimanlal Setalvad fild the Minority Rep (Hunter Com) pic.twitter.com/14YFnTeKmp
    — Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) April 13, 2019
    On April 13, 1919, hundreds of people who had gathered at Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh to stage a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act, which granted the colonial administration repressive powers, were gunned down by British forces led by Gen Dyer.

    Though the actual death toll is still disputed, official figures put the number of people killed at 379 and wounded at over 1,200.

    The four British members on the Hunter Commission were George C Rankin, Walter Francis Rice, Sir George de Symons Barrow and Thomas Smith.

    The Indian members were Chimanlal Setalvad, Pandit Jagat Narayan and Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan.

    The panel’s submissions were split into a majority and a minority report, which was signed by the three Indian members.

    On October 14, 1919, the government of India announced the formation of the ‘Disorders Inquiry Committee’ to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

    ALSO READ | ‘Bogus and baseless’: Congress on BJP charge that Sonia was behind Teesta Setalvad’s campaign against Modi

    The Committee was later called the Hunter Commission after its chairman Lord William Hunter.

    “We feel that Dyer, by adopting an inhuman and un-British method of dealing with subjects of His Majesty the King Emperor, has done great disservice to the interest of British rule in India,” Wagner says in the book, quoting from the minority report.

    The book also says eminent jurist Chimanlal’s “provocative questioning” resulted in Dyer making “self-damaging statements”.

    Citing an example from the Disorders Inquiry Committee report, it says Dyer’s shocking admission of opening fire with machine guns if the passage was wide enough to allow the armoured cars to go inside the Jallianwala Bagh was in reply to Setalvad’s question.

    The book also throws light on an “unpleasant incident” that occurred between Setalvad and Lord Hunter, further proving that the Indian and British members of the Commission were not on the same page.

    The incident described by Setalvad in his autobiography “Recollections and Reflections” — and produced in Wagner’s book — describes Hunter losing his temper at Setalvad and telling him, “They (Setalvad and his Indian colleagues) want to drive the British out of the country.”

    Setalvad replied, “It is perfectly legitimate for Indians to be free of foreign rule and Independence can be accomplished by mutual understanding and goodwill. The driving out process will only become necessary if the British are represented in this country by people as short-sighted and intolerant as yourself.”

    After this, though under the same roof, we, the Indian members, ceased to talk to Lord Hunter,” the book says, quoting from Setalvad’s autobiography.

    READ HERE | Jallianwala Bagh: Kim Wagner on why there was nothing uniquely ‘evil’ about General Dyer

    In fact, according to the book, the minority report of the Hunter Commission was “precisely similar” to the non-official enquiry committee report of the Congress, which had Motilal Nehru, CR Das, Abbas Tyabji, M.R.Jayakar and Mahatma Gandhi as its members. It also underscored that unlike the majority report, the minority report had blamed Dyer for not attending to the wounded.”

    “The Minority took a graver view of his (Dyer) responsibility and condemned his neglect as brutal and inhuman,” it added.

    Chimanlal Setalvad’s great-granddaughter Teesta Setalvad is a Mumbai-based journalist-turned-rights activist.

    She runs the NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace, formed after the 2002 Gujarat riots to provide support to the victims.

    MC Setalvad, India’s first attorney-general, was her grandfather.

    The claim that Chimanlal Setalvad, a member of the Hunter Commission set up in 1919 to probe the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, gave a “clean chit” to Gen Reginald Dyer is ‘misleading’.

    NEW DELHI: Activist Teesta Setalvad’s great-grandfather Chimanlal Setalvad, a member of the Hunter Commission probing the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, was not party to the panel’s verdict and gave a dissenting judgment holding Gen Reginald Dyer responsible, say historians.

    Social media posts, with thousands of likes and retweets, recently claimed Chimanlal Setalvad, one of the three Indians on the seven-member panel, was among those who gave a “clean chit” to Dyer for his actions that fateful April 13, 1919 day.

    But that is not true, countered historian Chaman Lal.

    “The Hunter Commission had British as well as Indian members. The Indian members gave a separate dissenting report in which they blamed not only Dyer but also Michael O’Dwyer — then lieutenant governor of Punjab — for the Jallianwala Bagh massacre,” Lal told PTI.

    “The Indian members report, called the ‘minority report’, was a very strongly worded one,” Lal added.

    He stressed that Setalvad, a “learned member of the Hunter Commission”, did not give a “clean chit” to the perpetrators of the Amritsar massacre.

    British historian Kim Wagner’s 2019 book “Amritsar 1919: An Empire of Fear and the Making of a Massacre” backs Lal’s submission.

    It says the minority report criticised Dyer’s action “more strongly” than the majority report.

    Quoting from the minority report, it says the Indian members described the firing at the Jallianwala Bagh as “inhuman and un-British”, even comparing it to the atrocities by German military officers in Belgium and France in 1914.

    The issue of the Hunter Commission and Setalvad’s role came back into the spotlight with several verified social media accounts, including that of RSS-affiliated magazine ‘Organiser Weekly’ and senior journalist Kanchan Gupta, attacking him.

    “Did you know? Fraud activist #TeestaSetalvad is great-granddaughter of Chimanlal Harilal Setalvad. C.H.Setalvad was a member of the #HunterCommission’ on the Jallianwala Bagh massacre. Hunter Commission gave a clean chit to General Dyer who ordered the firing on civilians,” tweeted Organiser Weekly.

    READ HERE | India rejects UN rights official’s remark on Teesta Setalvad’s arrest

    A similar post, tweeted by Kanchan Gupta, currently a senior advisor in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, generated almost 9,200 likes and over 4,250 retweets.

    The posts followed the arrest of Teesta Setalvad in June for allegedly submitting false evidence in the 2002 Gujarat riots case.

    A 100 yrs ago, a brute firing on close to 2,000 peaceful protesters, by d ‘Butcher of Punjab’ Dyer exposed d designs of a colonial regime. How mch hve police attitudes been made accountable? Jagat Narain Singh, Sultan Ahmed & Chimanlal Setalvad fild the Minority Rep (Hunter Com) pic.twitter.com/14YFnTeKmp
    — Teesta Setalvad (@TeestaSetalvad) April 13, 2019
    On April 13, 1919, hundreds of people who had gathered at Amritsar’s Jallianwala Bagh to stage a peaceful protest against the Rowlatt Act, which granted the colonial administration repressive powers, were gunned down by British forces led by Gen Dyer.

    Though the actual death toll is still disputed, official figures put the number of people killed at 379 and wounded at over 1,200.

    The four British members on the Hunter Commission were George C Rankin, Walter Francis Rice, Sir George de Symons Barrow and Thomas Smith.

    The Indian members were Chimanlal Setalvad, Pandit Jagat Narayan and Sardar Sahibzada Sultan Ahmad Khan.

    The panel’s submissions were split into a majority and a minority report, which was signed by the three Indian members.

    On October 14, 1919, the government of India announced the formation of the ‘Disorders Inquiry Committee’ to investigate the Jallianwala Bagh massacre.

    ALSO READ | ‘Bogus and baseless’: Congress on BJP charge that Sonia was behind Teesta Setalvad’s campaign against Modi

    The Committee was later called the Hunter Commission after its chairman Lord William Hunter.

    “We feel that Dyer, by adopting an inhuman and un-British method of dealing with subjects of His Majesty the King Emperor, has done great disservice to the interest of British rule in India,” Wagner says in the book, quoting from the minority report.

    The book also says eminent jurist Chimanlal’s “provocative questioning” resulted in Dyer making “self-damaging statements”.

    Citing an example from the Disorders Inquiry Committee report, it says Dyer’s shocking admission of opening fire with machine guns if the passage was wide enough to allow the armoured cars to go inside the Jallianwala Bagh was in reply to Setalvad’s question.

    The book also throws light on an “unpleasant incident” that occurred between Setalvad and Lord Hunter, further proving that the Indian and British members of the Commission were not on the same page.

    The incident described by Setalvad in his autobiography “Recollections and Reflections” — and produced in Wagner’s book — describes Hunter losing his temper at Setalvad and telling him, “They (Setalvad and his Indian colleagues) want to drive the British out of the country.”

    Setalvad replied, “It is perfectly legitimate for Indians to be free of foreign rule and Independence can be accomplished by mutual understanding and goodwill. The driving out process will only become necessary if the British are represented in this country by people as short-sighted and intolerant as yourself.”

    After this, though under the same roof, we, the Indian members, ceased to talk to Lord Hunter,” the book says, quoting from Setalvad’s autobiography.

    READ HERE | Jallianwala Bagh: Kim Wagner on why there was nothing uniquely ‘evil’ about General Dyer

    In fact, according to the book, the minority report of the Hunter Commission was “precisely similar” to the non-official enquiry committee report of the Congress, which had Motilal Nehru, CR Das, Abbas Tyabji, M.R.Jayakar and Mahatma Gandhi as its members. It also underscored that unlike the majority report, the minority report had blamed Dyer for not attending to the wounded.”

    “The Minority took a graver view of his (Dyer) responsibility and condemned his neglect as brutal and inhuman,” it added.

    Chimanlal Setalvad’s great-granddaughter Teesta Setalvad is a Mumbai-based journalist-turned-rights activist.

    She runs the NGO Citizens for Justice and Peace, formed after the 2002 Gujarat riots to provide support to the victims.

    MC Setalvad, India’s first attorney-general, was her grandfather.

    The claim that Chimanlal Setalvad, a member of the Hunter Commission set up in 1919 to probe the Jallianwala Bagh massacre, gave a “clean chit” to Gen Reginald Dyer is ‘misleading’.

  • Gujarat riots: Ahmed Patel paid Teesta Setlavad, Sanjeev Bhat, others to frame Modi, says SIT

    By ANI

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad, former state Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakhs from Ahmed Patel, the political advisor of the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following 2002 Gujarat riots, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) report revealed.

    The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with R B Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

    SIT’s ACP BC Solanki’s Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel filed an affidavit in the sessions court on Friday against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from Congress.

    ALSO READ | Sonia Gandhi acted through Patel to frame Modi in Gujarat riots: BJP

    Notably, a metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch on Tuesday in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents.

    After the riots that broke out after the Godhra incident, the SIT filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.

    The SIT affidavit stated that the accused had numerous meetings with Patel where they received Rs 5 lakhs for the first time and Rs 25 lakhs after two days. Ahmed Patel passed away in 2020.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)

    AHMEDABAD: Social activist Teesta Setalvad, former state Director General of Police (DGP) RB Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt had accepted Rs 30 lakhs from Ahmed Patel, the political advisor of the then Congress president Sonia Gandhi to allegedly frame then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi and destabilise his government following 2002 Gujarat riots, a Special Investigating Team (SIT) report revealed.

    The SIT was formed to probe Setalvad along with R B Sreekumar for criminal conspiracy and forgery.

    SIT’s ACP BC Solanki’s Special public prosecutors Mitesh Amin and Amit Patel filed an affidavit in the sessions court on Friday against the bail plea filed by Teesta, Sreekumar in the Sessions Court stating that the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy with the intention of obtaining illegal money and other benefits from Congress.

    ALSO READ | Sonia Gandhi acted through Patel to frame Modi in Gujarat riots: BJP

    Notably, a metropolitan court in Ahmedabad sent Setalvad and Sreekumar to 14-day judicial custody on July 2. Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested by the Ahmedabad Police’s Crime Branch on Tuesday in connection with the Gujarat riots case for embezzling funds and forging documents.

    After the riots that broke out after the Godhra incident, the SIT filed serious charges against Teesta Setalvad, RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt in the case of defaming several people including the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and Gujarat in the case of petitions to various commissions and the Supreme Court.

    The SIT affidavit stated that the accused had numerous meetings with Patel where they received Rs 5 lakhs for the first time and Rs 25 lakhs after two days. Ahmed Patel passed away in 2020.

    Last month, the Supreme Court dismissed the plea filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, challenging the clean chit given by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi and several others in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

    Ehsan Jafri was among 69 people killed during violence at the Gulbarg Society in Ahmedabad on February 28, 2002. His widow Zakia Jafri challenged the SIT’s clean chit to 64 people including Narendra Modi who was Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time.

    After 58 pilgrims were burnt alive on the Sabarmati Express train at Gujarat’s Godhra Railway Station on February 27, 2002, riots broke out across the state in which more than 1,000 people were killed. (ANI)