A sessions court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, denied Teesta Setalvad and former IPS officer RB Sreekumar’s request for bail on July 30, 2022. They had submitted this application following their detention in the 2002 riots case for fabricating evidence. Setalvad and Sreekumar’s bail requests were denied by Additional Sessions Judge DD Thakkar on the day of his retirement, just a few hours before his departure ceremony. Following arguments from Setalvad, Sreekumar, and the prosecution’s attorneys last week, the court decided to postpone making a verdict. The judge noted that the arrests were made following the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Zakia Jafri case and the SIT is looking into claims that the accused fabricated evidence.

Detection of Crime Branch (DCB) police in Ahmedabad detained Teesta Setalvad, R B Sreekumar, and former Gujarat police officer Sanjeev Bhatt last month after the Supreme Court denied Zakia Jafri’s request for an investigation into Narendra Modi, alleging a larger conspiracy in the Gujarat riots following the Godhra massacre. According to the ruling, Teesta Setalvad had taken advantage of Zakia Jafri’s feelings. The court had also ruled that R B Sreekumar and Sanjeev Bhatt had provided misleading testimony in which they claimed that CM Modi had conspired to incite the rioting.

 

Following the Supreme Court order, the Gujarat Police filed a case against Teesta Setalvad, Sanjiv Bhatt, and R B Sreekumar 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. With this, Setalvad and Sreekumar were arrested, while Bhatt was already in jail after his conviction in a custodial death case.

According to the FIR, the accused made false assertions regarding the Gujarat riots to stir up controversy. The SIT had exposed the falsehood of its allegations after conducting a comprehensive investigation, according to the FIR. The statement said that the processes have been pursued for the past 16 years, including the audacity to question the integrity of every official involved in the process of exposing the cunning tactic used to keep the pot boiling, plainly with ulterior design.

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