By TCN News,
New Delhi: Outraged by “blatant misuse of state machinery to hound and persecute a group of courageous human rights defenders” – Teesta Setalvad, Javed Anand and others – scores of intellectuals, academicians, students, artists, activists, teachers and even ordinary people held demonstrations in solidarity with the activists on Thursday in different cities across India.
“The latest raids by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into their home and offices in Mumbai on July 14, 2015 are continuation of the undeclared policy of first, the Gujarat government, and since May 2014, of the Central government to harass and demoralize them by foisting false cases of financial irregularity,” a statement by the activists in solidarity said.
Organisations such as All India Democratic Women’s Association (AIDWA), Anhad, Jana Natya Manch, Jamia Teachers’ Solidarity Association, NFIW, NOMORE Campaign, Shahri Adhikar Manch, Begharon Ke Saath and United Christian Forum among others, during the dharna demonstration at Jantar Mantar here on Thursday, demanded that the false cases, flimsy cases which have been used as a pretext to hound Setalvad, her colleagues and their organization be withdrawn and that the CBI must, with immediate effect, end its misinformation campaign which is absolutely contrary to facts and truth.
“Ever since the registration of the malicious FIR against the couple and their organization in 2014, they have been cooperating with the Gujarat police – and now with the CBI – by providing them with full documentary evidence of audited accounts and all other financial dealings. Nonetheless, the intention of the Gujarat police has been to somehow secure the custody of Setalvad and Anand. Frustrated in their attempts by the intervention of the Supreme Court, the Gujarat government has now mobilized the Ministry of Home Affairs, which has in turn unleashed the CBI on the activists,” they alleged.
“It is appalling that while multi-million scams and the ruling party’s coziness with scamsters awaits investigation, the Central government is witch hunting activists. The reasons are obvious: Setalvad and others must be made to pay for the relentless pursuit of justice in the 2002 massacre of Muslims,” a statement from the organisers said.
It is well-known that Teesta Setlavad and Javed Anand have been fearless in charging the then Chief Minister Narendra Modi, who is currently the country’s Prime Minister, with direct criminal culpability for post-Godhra Gujarat riots in 2002. For this, they have assisted Zakia Jafri, the widow of a former MP who was slaughtered in the carnage, to fight a brave court battle in which the first accused is Modi as the then CM. They are also appealing against court orders to free on bail prominent political leaders of the BJP convicted of the worst massacre in Naroda Patiya, Maya Kodnani and Babu Bajrangi.
It is no surprise therefore that the latest round of raids comes just before the Zakia Jafri case begins its final hearings on July 27 2015 and when the Naroda Patiya appeals (Kodnani and Bajrangi) were to be heard in the Gujarat High Court, the statement claimed.
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