Two days after a case was filed against jailed former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, retired DGP RB Sreekumar, and ‘activist’ Teesta Setalvad for conspiring to fabricate testimony to influence the proceedings of the 2002 Gujarat riots case, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch has sought Bhatt’s remand. Bhatt is currently lodged in a Palanpur jail in a drug peddling case.
According to the FIR, the accused attempted to generate sensation by lying to investigators about the Gujarat riots. According to the FIR, the SIT thoroughly investigated their accusations and found them to be false. The same comments were also made by the Supreme Court while rejecting the plea of Zakia Jafri.
#BREAKING on #TeestaFiles | Ahmedabad crime branch seeks Sanjiv Bhatt’s remand in connection with 2002 Gujarat riots case
— Republic (@republic) June 27, 2022
Currently, Sanjiv Bhatt is in Palanpur jail
Tune in here – https://t.co/hBNv8QJ045 pic.twitter.com/kyGYFAjwIt
According to a report by the Republic TV, the officials want to confront Sanjiv Bhatt, Ex-DGP RB Sreekumar and so-called activist Teesta Setalvad with each other and also question the trio about the documentary evidence from the 2002 Special Investigation Team (SIT) investigation.
DCP (crime) Chaitanya Mandlik said that as part of the probe, the Crime Branch will collect the documents that the trio provided to the Commission of Inquiry, the SIT, and the courts about the riots in Gujarat in 2002.
Pertinently, a team of Gujarat’s Anti Terrorism Squad had taken the so-called activist Teesta Setalvad into custody from her home in the Juhu area in Mumbai at around 3 pm on June 25, 2022. On the same day, the Gujarat ATS also arrested retired DGP RB Sreekumar and had sent both to police remand till July 1. The crime branch had informed that it is in the process of acquiring a transfer warrant for arresting former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.
A day after the Supreme Court said that false allegations of a ‘larger conspiracy’ were made in the Gujarat riots case, Gujarat police filed a case against former IPS officers Sanjiv Bhatt and RB Sreekumar, and activist Teesta Setalvad.
The crime branch of Ahmedabad police has booked the three under sections 468 (Forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document or record as genuine), 194 (Giving or fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction of capital offence), 211 (False charge of offence made with intent to injure), 218 (Public servant framing incorrect record), and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the India Penal Code.
In the FIR, it has been said that the accused had tried to create sensation by making false claims about the Gujarat riots.
SC gives clean chit to PM Modi, Amit Shah and others in the 2002 Gujarat riots case
Friday, June 24, saw the Supreme Court reject claims of a larger conspiracy into the Gujarat riots by PM Narendra Modi and other top Gujarat officials. These allegations were levelled by Zakia Jafri, the wife of deceased former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri. At that time, Modi was Gujarat’s chief minister.
While delivering its verdict, the apex court said that the “appeal is devoid of merits”. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar refused to order a probe into allegations of a “larger conspiracy” behind the Gujarat riots.
The Supreme Court said in its judgment that Teesta Setalvad, a co-petitioner in the case, exploited the emotions of Zakia Jafri. The court denied Zakia Jafri’s request to reconsider the Special Investigation Team’s decision to exonerate Modi in the riots case.
