Know who is Teesta Setalvad, why she was sent behind bars?

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has detained activist Teesta Setalvad from Mumbai, a day after the Supreme Court’s decision to take action against those working in the state of Gujarat for handling the 2002 communal riots. False allegations were made against him.

Giving a clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat at the time of the riots, the Supreme Court in its judgment slammed former Gujarat police officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt as well as Teesta Setalvad.

Setalvad’s arrest was based on a complaint by a police officer in the Crime Branch, Ahmedabad City, Gujarat, who alleged that Setalvad, in connivance with some investigative officers and unidentified others, conspired and created records and evidence and was charged under the Indian Penal Code. charged off. , committed crimes.

Setalvad has been taken into custody at Santacruz police station. She will soon be taken to Gujarat, where she will be produced before a judicial magistrate.

The NGO run by Teesta Setalvad gave baseless information about the Gujarat riots, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said as the Supreme Court on Friday dismissed the appeal against the acquittal of then state Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 riots case was.

The case pertains to the Gulberg Society incident in which 68 people, including former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, were killed in riots in a train compartment in which 59 pilgrims were killed in February 2002. A decade later, the SIT report acquitted Narendra Modi citing “no prosecutable evidence” in the Gulberg Society case.

About Teesta Setalvad?

CJP is a co-petitioner seeking criminal prosecution against Narendra Modi and several other politicians and government officials for their alleged involvement in the 2002 Gujarat riots.

On June 24, 2022, the Supreme Court upheld the SIT clean chit given to PM Modi in the Gujarat riots case, saying activist Teesta Setalvad exploited the sentiments of petitioner Zakia Jafri for “wrongful purposes”.

What are the allegations against Teesta Setalvad?

One of the allegations against Teesta and her husband Javed Anand was that they duped Rs 6 crore to Rs 7 crore in the name of riot victims by launching massive money collection campaigns since 2007. 2014 through advertisements in a magazine owned by him and also through “organizing musical and artistic events”.

It was alleged in the court that the amount raised through donation was spent by the couple on liquor and food and other items of conspicuous consumption.

Teesta, however, claimed that the action was a witch-hunt and an attempt to eliminate him. However, the BJP responded by saying that the law is only doing its job.

Another allegation against Teesta is that she violated foreign exchange laws and misappropriated funds donated by the US-based Ford Foundation to her NGO in 2009.