“Teesta worked to destabilise elected govt,” say Gujarat Police
The Hindu
No such evidence exists, says Ms. Setalvad during bail hearing
A local court in Ahmedabad on Thursday reserved its orders on bail applications filed by social activist Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer R.B. Sreekumar, both facing charges of committing forgery and fabricating evidence to implicate top functionaries of Gujarat government in a case related to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Both have been charged under various sections of Indian Penal Code including 468, 471, 194, 211, 218, and 120B.
IPC section 468 deals with forgery for purpose of cheating, section 471 with using as genuine a forged document, section 194 with providing or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence, section 211 for false charge of offence made with intent to injure, section 218 for public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture and section 120 (B) for criminal conspiracy.
During the hearing for her bail application, the police submitted an affidavit claiming that “she and other accused were part of larger conspiracy to destabilise the then elected government headed by CM Narendra Modi” and she worked “at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel” after the communal riots of 2002.
As per the affidavit, “The political objective of the applicant [Ms. Setalvad] while enacting this larger conspiracy was dismissal or destabilisation of the elected government.”
“She obtained illegal financial and other benefits and rewards from rival political party in lieu of her attempts to wrongly implicate innocent persons in Gujarat,” the affidavit further stated.
The police have also recorded statements of several witnesses to support the charges levied against Ms. Setalvad and Mr. Sreekumar and another former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.