Gujarat government opposes Teesta Setalvad’s bail plea

Ahmedabad (IANS) | The Gujarat government opposed the bail plea of activist Teesta Setalvad in the Gujarat High Court and presented arguments highlighting her ability to tamper with evidence in a case related to the 2002 riots. The prosecution on Wednesday claimed that Congress leader Ahmed Patel paid Rs 30 lakh to Setalvad, Sanjeev Bhatt and RB Sreekumar as part of a conspiracy to blame the Gujarat government for the riots.

The state government said that Setalvad was assigned the task of defaming then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and BJP workers.

Setalvad’s bail plea was opposed by the government in the sessions court last year on the same ground.

During the court hearing, the state prosecution termed Setalvad a tool of a politician with the aim of defaming Gujarat. The public prosecutor asserted that Teestawar conspired, along with police officers Sreekumar and Bhatt, to publicize the conspiracy angle and destabilize the Gujarat government in the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

The prosecution further disclosed that Setalvad had allegedly received financial assistance from a prominent leader of a rival political party. He cited statements of witnesses, including Rais Khan, a former close aide of Setalvad, who described a meeting between Setalvad and Patel where instructions were given to ensure punishment for certain individuals.

The prosecution supported their claims by producing recorded statements of witnesses, who claimed to have paid Setalvad on Patel’s instructions.

–IANS