Prominent Activist in India Arrested Over Crusade Against Modi in Deadly Riots New York Times
27, Jun 2022 | Sameer Yasir
Teesta Setalvad was detained by an antiterrorism squad to face charges of fabricating evidence against Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The activist, Teesta Setalvad, was detained by an antiterrorism squad on Saturday in Mumbai and taken north to the neighboring state of Gujarat to face charges relating to a case brought against Mr. Modi when he was the state’s top official.
While he was never found responsible, for years Indians have asked whether Mr. Modi could have curtailed or stopped the sectarian riots, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. Ms. Setalvad was detained after India’s top court Friday dismissed a petition that challenged Mr. Modi’s exoneration in the strife.
Despite Mr. Jafri’s repeated calls to influential people for help, he was hacked to pieces and burned.
Mr. Jafri’s widow, Zakia Jafri, who is now 85, has fought a legal battle seeking to establish that the riots were the result of a high-level conspiracy involving Mr. Modi. The United States imposed a visa ban in 2005 to rebuke Mr. Modi over the episode, though he has denied any role.
Ms. Setalvad has long supported Ms. Jafri and other victims of the sectarian carnage. It was Ms. Jafri who filed the petition against Mr. Modi that was dismissed by India’s Supreme Court Friday.
The court’s decision last week on Mr. Modi’s lack of culpability found no evidence of criminal conspiracy behind the mob violence against Muslims, effectively foreclosing any further legal challenge to Mr. Modi.
But the three-judge panel went further in its judgment, pointing a finger at Ms. Setalvad for having “exploited the emotions of Zakia Jafri” and saying, “As a matter of fact, all those involved in such abuse of process need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law.”
Videos from Gujarat on Sunday showed Ms. Setalvad coming out of a court in Ahmedabad, Gujarat’s largest city, with her left arm raised to highlight bruises she said were caused by the Gujarat police’s antiterrorism unit.
Ms. Setalvad filed a complaint against one officer who she said accosted her in her bedroom during her arrest when she demanded to speak to her lawyer.
“Why are you pushing me?” she is heard telling the officer in a video posted on Twitter. “I am not a criminal.”
The original piece may be read here
