teesta

In the latest round of vindictive actions against human rights defender Teesta Setalvad secretary of Citizen’s for Justice and Peace the Gujarat police Crime Branch has registered a false FIR on malicious grounds of cheating etc. This time the vindictiveness of the Gujarat police has extended to also implicating two Survivors Salimbhai Sandhi who lost five family members including his son Mohammed and Firoz Gulzar Pathan who also lost four from his family in the vicious attack on Gulberg Society on 28.2.2002. Javed Anand also a human rights defender has also been roped in as a co-accused in this malicious and motivated case.

The timing of the FIR is significant given the fact that for a full eleven months after CJP and Sabrang had given satisfactory explanations to the Crime Branch investigations had been dropped. In a written complaint to the Crime Branch, Ahmedabad police, the office bearers of Gulberg Society had accused complainant Feroze Khan of forging the letterhead of the society. A former employee of CJP, Rais Khan has been at the root of this and 2 other false criminal complaints against Teesta Setalvad. In both he has been aggressively aided by the Gujarat police.

The sudden filing of this FIR soon after the Ahmedabad Magistrate’s acceptance of the SIT report is not without significance. The SIT had outsourced its work to DCP Crime Branch, Himanshu Shukla and the head of the same Crime Branch, AK Sharma, who had handled the investigation last year. The timing of this FIR replete with a threat of arrest is seen by us as efforts to prevent prompt filing of appeal in the Zakia Jafri case against Narendra Modi and 59 others.

The close nexus between top functionaries of the BJP who have been appearing for Rais Khan include Mr. Ram Jethmalani. Even advocates appearing for SIT have been appearing for Rais Khan in the High Court.