The court of a Metropolitan Magistrate has remanded activist Testa Setalvad to police custody till July 1. Setalvad had been picked up from her Mumbai home by a unit of the Gujarat Anti Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Saturday afternoon and taken to Ahmedabad, where she was formally arrested this morning.
She will now be produced in court on July 2 along with her alleged co-conspirator RB Sreekumar who is a retired IPS officer and former Director General of Police (DGP) Gujarat. After the arrest, she was taken to SV Hospital in Ahmedabad for a routine medical check-up before being produced before a judge.
Readers would recall that Setalvad had said that she had been physically assaulted in her home by police personnel yesterday, and had sustained bruises to her left hand. She had also expressed concerns about her safety in a written complaint filed with the Santacruz Police Station where she was taken by the Gujarat ATS team, before she was whisked away to Ahmedabad.
Setalvad has maintained that the manner in which she was arrested was illegal – that she wasn’t even shown the warrant or First Information Report (FIR) till her lawyer arrived. Also curious is how the conspiracy charges materialized just a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by Zakia Jafri, widow of slain Congress Member of Parliament (MP) Ehsan Jafri who had been brutally killed during the communal violence that broke out in Gulberg Society in 2002. Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) through its secretary Teesta Setalvad was the second petitioner in the case.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the court, deeming Setalvad’s involvement to be malicious, observed in its judgment, “As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law.”
The above extract was also quoted in a complaint filed on behalf of the State by Darshansinh B Barad, Police Inspector, Detection of Crime Branch, Ahmedabad City. In the complaint dated June 25, 2022, Barad asks for an FIR to be registered against Setalvad, former Gujarat Director General of Police (DGP) R.B Sreekumar and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt under the following sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC):
194 (Giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence)
211 (False charge of offence made with intent to injure)
218 (Public servant framing incorrect record or writing with intent to save person from punishment or property from forfeiture)
468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating)
471 (Using as genuine a forged document or electronic record)
Read with 120 B (Criminal Conspiracy)
The State’s complaint says that Setalvad, Sreekumar and Bhatt conspired to malign the reputation of senior Gujarat government officials as well as the Special investigation Team (SIT) formed to investigate the communal violence of 2002. The trumped-up charges against Setalvad include conspiracy to fabricate facts and documents, tutor witnesses and bring about a malicious prosecution against the alleged perpetrators of the conspiracy behind the 2002 Gujarat communal violence.
The clearly trumped-up charges have not gone unnoticed by civil society members, with new voices joining the chorus to demand justice for Teesta Setalvad every hour.
The Supreme Court has turned the Constitution on its head by targeting an individual for claiming rights. This goes against all our Court was congratulated for globally in the last 5 decades, however imperfect the system. Sad day. #TeestaSetalvad
— Karuna Nundy (@karunanundy) June 26, 2022
#TeestaSetalvad is paying the price for upholding truth. She has always stood for the poor & marginalized, fought against Human Right violations across the country. But those that act against the interest of the poor are roaming free. This is New India! #TeestaSetalvadArrested
— Jignesh Mevani (@jigneshmevani80) June 26, 2022
When journalists like @TeestaSetalvad are arrested in India, we know that two pillars of democracy are compromised- media and judiciary. If India loses democracy, democracy looses India. #TeestaSetalvad #PressFreedom #India #CrytheBelovedCountry
— Ruchira Gupta (@Ruchiragupta) June 26, 2022
#TeestaSetalvad needs all of us fellow citizens who value freedoms. The Constitution. The democracy. The Rule of Law.
She needs all of us. Especially, when the highest Constitutional Court has all but thrown her under the bus. To the repressive & regressive bunch
Spare a thought— Adv. M (@RURALINDIA) June 25, 2022
Teesta is river of North Bengal, famous for her grit! Grit, that taught us to speak truth to the power.
Arresting Teesta wont change a thing! Gujrat genocide cannot be erased with blackmails. Truth shall prevail. #TeestaSetalvad
— Dipsita (@DharDipsita) June 25, 2022
Many peaceful protests have been planned by activists, youth groups, trade unions and others in the upcoming days. In fact, one protest was held in Kolkata on the evening of June 26, by members of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) or CPI (M). Politburo member Brinda Karat has come out in support of Setalvad and called her arrest a “very vindictive action” by the regime. She warns that such actions are an “ominous threat to all democratic citizens” who dare to question the role of authorities in the spread of communal violence. Her entire video statement may be viewed here:
Comrade Brinda Karat, Polit Bureau Member of the CPI(M) speaks on arrest of activist Teesta Setalvad. pic.twitter.com/SnjlLTWis8
— CPI (M) (@cpimspeak) June 26, 2022
In fact, members of another Left Front party, the CPI (ML) Liberation, burnt an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi at a protest in Jadhavpur in West Bengal.
Protest in Kolkata against politically vindictive arrests of Teesta Setalvad, R.B. Shreekumar and others for pursuing justice for victims of Gujarat 2002 carnage. pic.twitter.com/f1animEwSG
— CPIML Liberation, West Bengal (@CpimlWestBengal) June 26, 2022
Related:
Support pours in for Teesta Setalvad
Release Teesta Setalvad: Indian Human Rights groups and activists
PRESS RELEASE: Teesta Setalvad roughed up as Gujarat ATS personnel barge into her home