A day after court decision on 2002 riots, activist Teesta Setalvad detained
25 June, 2022 | Riya Girdhar
Teesta Setlavad was a co-petitioner in the Supreme Court case that yesterday denied the appeal against Prime Minister Narendra Modi's acquittal in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
A day after the Supreme Court criticised those who had “kept the pot boiling” about the 2002 Gujarat riots, activist Teesta Setalvad was apprehended by the Gujarat Police’s Anti-Terrorism Squad from Mumbai on Saturday, according to sources.
The stern Supreme Court ruling was interpreted as a reference to Setalvad’s NGO, which has worked closely with the riot victims.
In the lawsuit that the Supreme Court dismissed on Friday, Setlavad was a co-petitioner who contested Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s exoneration. The primary petitioner was Zakia Jafri, wife of deceased Congress MP Ehsan Jafri.
The Supreme Court upheld the Special Investigation Team’s (SIT) decision to clear PM Modi, who was the Gujarat Chief Minister at the time, saying the case was “devoid of merits” and was “clearly, submitted for an ulterior motive.”
The judges concluded that the appeal was submitted “at the direction of someone” and stated that “all those involved in such abuse of process ought to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law.”