Gujarat ATS takes Teesta Setalvad into custody after Supreme Court judgment [Read FIR]

The Gujarat Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) has taken activist Teesta Setalvad into custody from Mumbai, a day after the Supreme Court judgment which had urged action against persons who had made false allegations against State of Gujarat regarding its handling of the 2002 communal riots..The Supreme Court while giving clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi who was the Chief Minister of Gujarat during the time of riots, had come down upon former Gujarat Police officials RB Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt as well as Teesta Setalvad in its judgment.The arrest of Setalvad was based on a complaint by a police officer at Crime Branch, Ahmedabad City, Gujarat who alleged that Setalvad along with certain investigation officers and unknown others conspired and forged records and evidence thereby committing offences under the Indian Penal Code. Setalvad has been taken into custody and detained at the Santacruz police station. She will be shortly taken to Gujarat, where she will be produced before a Judicial Magistrate..Provisions slapped against SetalvadThe offences registered in the FIR are under Sections 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence), 211 (false charge of offence), 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record), 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document as genuine) and 120B (Criminal conspiracy) of IPC..What the Supreme Court held.The top court had on Friday dismissed the plea by Zakia Jafri, wife of former Congress Member of Parliament Ehsan Jafri who had challenged the Gujarat High Court’s decision of 2017 upholding the Magistrate's decision to accept the closure report filed by the SIT in the case.While dismissing the plea, the top court had made observations against persons more specifically Gujarat officials, including former DGP of the State RB Sreekumar, terming them "disgruntled".The Court said that there was a coalesced effort by the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat to create sensation by making revelations that were false to their own knowledge."At the end of the day, it appears to us that a coalesced effort of the disgruntled officials of the State of Gujarat along with others was to create sensation by making revelations which were false to their own knowledge. The falsity of their claims had been fully exposed by the SIT after a thorough investigation," the judgment had said.Such officials need to be in the dock for "keeping pot boiling" with ulterior motive."Intriguingly, the present proceedings have been pursued for last 16 years including with the audacity to question the integrity of every functionary involved in the process of exposing the devious stratagem adopted (to borrow the submission of learned counsel for the SIT), to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design. 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 Court had stated..What the complaint says.The complaint by the crime branch officer cited the observations of the Supreme Court in the judgment delivered on Friday.The complainant stated that Setalvad had concocted and forged facts, documents and evidence including fabrication of documents by persons who were prospective witnesses of the complainant which led them to depose through 'pre-typed affidavits'. He based his claims on the SIT report which was accepted by the Supreme Court on Friday. The report also pointed out allegedly, that the Setalvad along with Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt instituted false and malicious criminal proceedings against innocent people with an intention to cause injury. .[Read FIR]

Gujarat ATS takes Teesta Setalvad into custody after Supreme Court judgment [Read FIR]

Neha Joshi

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