Teesta Setalvad, a social activist, was allegedly paid by Congress in 2002 to undermine the Gujrat Administration, according to the Special Investigation Team (STI) of the Gujarat government claimed on Friday.
The SIT said that shortly after the 2002 Godhra train burning incident, Setalvad was planning a significant conspiracy to topple Gujarat’s elected government. Not only that, but she also received financial backing for it from a prominent member of the opposition party.
Let us tell you that Gujarat saw terrible riots in the year 2002. The biggest opposition party at the time was Congress. The SIT objected to Setalvad’s bail request in an affidavit that was submitted today to the city’s civil session court. According to the SIT, the accused had formed a larger plot with inferior political goals.
After activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat Director General of Police RB Sreekumar, the SIT of the Gujarat Police on Wednesday also detained former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in connection with the 2002 racial riots.
The SiT stated in its affidavit that more investigation is ongoing and that two witness statements have already been obtained. According to the SIT, the testimony of these two witnesses indicates that Setalvad and the other accused individuals participated in the plot at the direction of Ahmed Patel, then Rajya Sabha MP, and political advisor to the Congress President.
According to the SIT, the accused Setalvad had allegedly been involved in this plot from the very beginning. She met with Ahmed Patel a few days after the Godhra train incident, and in the beginning, she was handed five lakh rupees. A witness gave her cash on orders of the top leader of Congress.
Before the court, police testified that Seetalvad received Rs. 25 lakh on the witness Nave Patel’s orders during a meeting two days later between Patel and Satalvad at the Government Circuit House in Shahibagh.
According to reports, money distributed at the conference was not a part of any relief fund. It also stated that several political leaders attended these meetings.