'I am not a criminal...': Teesta Setalvad who was arrested after SC's verdict on Gujarat riots

Ahmedabad: “I am not a criminal,” shouted activist Teesta Setalvad as she was being presented in Metropolitan Magistrates Court, Ahmedabad. Setalavad was on Saturday detained by the Gujarat Anti Terrorist Squad (ATS) from Mumbai in connection with an FIR registered against her at the Ahmedabad city crime branch. Setalvad's arrest is in connection to her NGO, which had supported Zakia Jafri throughout her legal battle. Jafri's husband Ehsan Jafri, who was a Congress leader, was killed during the 2002 Gujarat riots. The arrest came after the Supreme Court of India upheld the clean chit given to then Chief Minister Narendra Modi by the SIT investigation.

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Ahmedabad, Gujarat | Gujarat ATS presents Teesta Setalvad in Metropolitan Magistrates Court, Ahmedabad, "I am not a criminal," she shouts going in pic.twitter.com/26lLS36C8T — ANI (@ANI) June 26, 2022

According to ANI, Gujarat ATS will seek 14-days of custody as she is not cooperating in the investigation. "The accused are not supporting us in the investigation. We are demanding 14 days of custody. Teesta will be produced in front of the Magistrate and all her statements will be recorded there. We are getting the documents arranged from various sources," said the DCP.

The action against Setalvad came after Union Minister Amit Shah in an interview with ANI said that Teesta Setalvad-run NGO gave baseless information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

"We have done the medical check-up, and the due process was followed by the Crime Branch. The investigation is at a primary level, strict actions will be taken once the investigation is done. We have the primary affidavits and documents submitted by the accused," he added.

Clean chit to PM Modi in Gujarat riots case

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld the clean chit given to then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi in the Gujarat riots of 2022. The court’s verdict highlighted that the state government made all the efforts to control the Gujarat riots and took the right decisions at the right time.

The SIT, appointed by the apex court, conducted the investigation into the case and gave a clean chit to then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, and other top politicians and bureaucrats.

(With ANI inputs)