2002 Gujarat riots case: Ahmedabad court rejects bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad, ex-DGP Sreekumar

The sessions court in Ahmedabad on Saturday rejected the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad and former Director General of Police RB Sreekumar in the 2002 Gujarat riots case. Earlier, the court had reserved its order on the bail applications of both Setalvad and Sreekumar.

Notably, the government had submitted an affidavit opposing the bail application. Both the sides had concluded presenting their arguments last week, following which the court had reserved its order.

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. (ANI)

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