Teesta Setalvad, an activist, had applied for bail. Still, the Gujarat police rejected it, saying she was a part of a “bigger plot” against then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi by Congress veteran Ahmed Patel.
Ms. Setalvad is one of two people who Ahmedabad’s crime department recently detained on suspicion of plotting to fraudulently link individuals to the violence in Gujarat in 2002.
According to an affidavit submitted by the police’s Special Investigation Team before the sessions court, she was a part of a “bigger plot” to overthrow the BJP administration in the state following the 2002 riots at the command of the late Congress stalwart Ahmed Patel.
The Special Investigation Team’s assertion was refuted by Congress today, which claimed “vehemently denies the false accusations levelled against the late Shri Ahmed Patel. This is a deliberate move by the prime minister to disavow any blame for the communal carnage in Gujarat in 2002 when he was the state’s chief minister. The then-Indian Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has reminded the Chief Minister of his rajdharma because of his reluctance and inability to stop this slaughter.”
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The Congress continued to criticize the Prime Minister by asserting, “Clearly, the political vengeance machine of the prime minister does not even spare the dead who were his political rivals. This SIT will sit wherever it is instructed to since it dances to the beat of its political master. We know of the diplomatic assignment that a prior SIT chairman received for giving the Chief Minister a “clean chit.”
The BJP responded, alleging “Teesta Setalvad and her allies planned the plot at Sh Ahmed Patel’s request in order to damage Gujarat’s reputation. Sonia Gandhi, the president of the Congress, consulted Ahmed Patel on political matters. Buck halts at Sonia Gandhi’s door!”
The Special Investigation Team’s response was considered by Additional Sessions Judge DD Thakkar, who then scheduled the hearing on the bail plea for Monday.
Along with former IPS officers RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, Ms. Setalvad has been detained for allegedly manipulating evidence to frame innocent persons in instances involving the Gujarat riots.
“In carrying out this bigger plot, the applicant (Setalvad) had as his political goal the ouster or destabilization of the elected government. She attempted to falsely accuse innocent people in Gujarat, and in exchange, she received illicit financial and other privileges and incentives from a competing political party “stated the affidavit of the SIT.
The SIT claimed that the plot was carried out under late Congress leader Ahmed Patel’s direction, citing a witness’s testimony. It contended that Ms. Setalvad got 30 lakh during the 2002 Godhra riots at Ahmed Patel’s urging.
The SIT also said that Ms. Setalvad regularly met with the leaders of a “prominent national party then in power in Delhi to incriminate names of top officials of the BJP administration in riot cases.”
It quoted a different witness to assert that Ms. Setalvad had questioned a Congress official in 2006 about why the party was only providing “opportunity to Shabana and Javed” but denying her a seat in the Rajya Sabha.
State police detained Ms. Setalvad last month, a day after the Supreme Court upheld the pardon handed to former Chief Minister Narendra Modi and others in the Gujarat riots case.
She was accused under the IPC sections 468 (forgery) and 194 (providing or creating false evidence to attain conviction for death crime), as well as other offenses, along with Mr. Sreekumar and Mr. Bhatt.
