Social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand on Friday appeared before the Ahmedabad Crime Branch to record their statements in connection with a case of alleged misappropriation of funds filed by her former associate. The couple was questioned for eight hours starting 10 o’ clock in the morning.
Speaking to reporters outside the crime branch office, Setalvad said, “I have done nothing wrong. The process is going on.” Police officials refused to divulge details of the interrogation.
“We can’t comment on the statement since it is under investigation,” said CN Rajput, Assistant Commissioner of Police, Crime Branch. “But we have been given one document by the complainant and due procedure will take place to see if the allegations are actually true. We took her statement five times to be certain. It took long because we were doing a lot of thorough questioning with regards to the funding of her NGO.”
The complaint was filed by Raees Khan, former member of Setalvad’s NGO Sabrang Trust. He had accused the couple of misusing funds to the tune of Rs 1.4 crore, believed to be fraudulently acquired from the Ministry of Human Resource Development under the UPA regime between 2009 and 2014. The funds were acquired under the ‘Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan’ scheme of the government.
Khan said he had been trying to register the complaint for years but the police took no action. “I want an investigation into why it took so long. I have all the documents and want them to pay for their crimes,” he told DNA. Setalvad is known for her relief and rehabilitation work with victims of the 2002 communal riots in the state.
TEESTA SAYS
- “I have done nothing wrong. The process is going on,” Setalvad said.
- Complaint was filed by Raees Khan, former member of Setalvad’s NGO Sabrang Trust. He had accused the couple of misusing funds to the tune of Rs 1.4 crore, believed to be fraudulently acquired from the HRD ministry under the UPA regime between 2009 and 2014.
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