Gujarat Police takes activist Teesta Setalvad to custody

New Delhi: Activist Teesta Setalvad was detained by the Gujarat Anti-terrorist Squad (ATS) from Mumbai, taken to Santacruz police station and later to Ahmedabad on Saturday, hours after Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused her of giving false information about the 2002 Gujarat riots to the police.

However, Setalvad has lodged a complaint with Santacruz police station stating that she was arrested illegally, PTI reported. A police officer from Mumbai has confirmed the same. In her complaint, Setalvad alleged that the Gujarat Police barged into her house, bruised her and detained her without producing a copy of an FIR or warrant against her. "I fear seriously for my life," she stated in her complaint.

Amit Shah made the claim in an interview with Asian News International. He alleged that Setalvad had an NGO which petitioned against BJP workers at police stations. "Teesta Setalvad's NGO was doing this," he told ANI.

The Supreme Court on Friday had dismissed Zakia Jafri's petition that alleged a larger conspiracy in the Gujarat riots in 2002. A bench headed by Justice A M Khanwilkar on Friday spoke of "the devious stratagem to keep the pot boiling, obviously, for ulterior design", and said disgruntled officers of the Gujarat government need to be in the dock and proceeded in accordance with law for creating a sensation by making false revelations.

Zakia Jafri, who was backed by Setalvad's NGO, had filed the petition to challenge SIT's clean chit to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was Chief Minister of the state when the riots occurred. The SIT had granted clean chit to others who were named in the case too.

Zakia Jafri is the wife of former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, who was killed in the deadly riots.