The special investigation team (SIT) filed a 6,300-page chargesheet against social activist Teesta Setalvad, former DGP R B Sreekumar and ex-IPS Sanjiv Bhatt, citing 90 witnesses to substantiate charges of fabricating evidence to frame 63 persons, including the then chief minister Narendra Modi, for a purported ‘larger conspiracy behind the 2002 riots.
Sreekumar and Bhatt are behind bars, while Setalvad has been granted interim bail by the Supreme Court in this case. The SIT had charged the three with criminal conspiracy, forgery, fabricating false evidence with intent to procure conviction for capital punishment, falsely instituting criminal proceedings against people despite knowledge that there was no just ground for the same and framing of incorrect records by a public servant.
The accused persons created evidence of incidents that had not occurred and tried to implicate people who were not connected to the events. They made witnesses sign affidavits that had false details and made witnesses give false evidence in court. The accused tried to shift the riot cases out of Gujarat and defamed the state in the process. Setalvad did so to gain political benefit.
Sreekumar is accused of misusing his position as a government official, of making back-dated entries in a register and filing affidavits with incorrect facts before the Godhra riots inquiry commission by falsely accusing other government officials of being inactive during the riots. He also allegedly threatened a witness, who had fallen out with Setalvad. “You compromise with Teesta or else the Muslims will become your enemy and you will be a target of the terrorists. Let’s work together and if we keep on fighting internally, enemies will get the advantage of it. It will directly benefit Modi,” a witness has been quoted as saying in the chargesheet.
