Gujarat HC extends relief from arrest to Teesta Setalvad in Rs 1.4 cr embezzlement case

Agencies

May 28, 2018

Ahmedabad, May 28: The Gujarat High Court today extended the protection from arrest to activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand till June 13, in a Rs 1.4 crore fund embezzlement case.

Earlier today, Justice A Y Kogje, in whose court the matter was listed, recused himself from hearing it saying "not before me." The matter was then taken up by the court of Justice Biren Vaishnav, who extended the activists' interim protection from arrest till June 13. The court has listed the case for next hearing on June 12. The Supreme Court had last month granted temporary relief to Setalvad and Anand, extending their interim protection from arrest and transit anticipatory bail from May 2 to May 31, granted to them by the Bombay High Court.

The apex court had said the duo will not be arrested till May 31, but before that they would have to approach the competent court in Gujarat which will decide the matter on merits. Setalvad and Anand had moved the Gujarat High Court after a lower court rejected their anticipatory bail plea in the Rs 1.4 crore fund embezzlement case related to their NGO Sabrang Trust. The duo had moved the plea for anticipatory bail after an FIR lodged against them on March 30 this year by complainant Raeeskhan Pathan. Opposing the bail plea in the lower court, the Crime Branch had claimed that the couple misused the money granted to their NGO by the Union Ministry of Human Resource Development between 2010 and 2013 for their "personal and political cause".

In its submission, the Crime Branch said the accused misused the funds "to pay witnesses in serious cases in Gujarat (2002 riot cases) to make false deposition." During this period, Setalvad worked as the field co-coordinator for her NGO - Citizen for Justice and Peace, while her husband Javed Anand worked as the trustee of the Sabrang Trust. The ministry had granted Rs 1.4 crore between 2010 and 2013 to the NGO for a scheme under the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan. Under the 'Khoj project', the Sabrang Trust had published literature and pamphlets that spread communal enmity which is "dangerous for the country's unity", the police said.

In their defence, Setalvad and Anand had told the court that the books published by them were written by some enowned writers, like Govind Pansare and Savitriben Phule, and were approved by the HRD Ministry. They also provided details of bank accounts related to the fund, saying all payments were made through cheques and were transparent. They claimed the police wanted their custody on "false complaint" and that the complainant, Pathan, had a "personal grudge" against them.

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23 Israel-linked terrorists killed, 46 captured by Iran army

News Network

November 15,2024

Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has killed or captured 69 terrorists linked to the Israeli spy agency Mossad during a major counterterrorism drill in the country's southeast, its spokesman says.

General Ahmad Shafaei, the spokesman for the “Martyrs of Security” drill, said Friday that a total of 23 terrorists have been killed and another 46 arrested in various clean-up operations ever since the IRGC Ground Force launched it in the Sistan and Baluchestan province on November 1.

Seven terrorists have also turned themselves in during the period.

“The undeniable fact about terrorists is that they rely on arrogant powers, particularly the intelligence service of the wicked and vicious Zionist regime," Shafaei said.

“Unfortunately, weapons and munitions at terrorists’ disposal are among the most sophisticated ones in the world. This accounts for their heavy dependence.”

The official stated that several members of the disbanded terror teams were non-Iranian nationals, who had been hired by foreign intelligence agencies to carry out acts of sabotage and terror inside Iran.

In a most recent operation, six terrorists were arrested and four others were eliminated, three of whom were non-Iranians, he added.

On October 26, ten members of Iran's law enforcement forces were killed in a terrorist attack in the Gohar Kuh district of Taftan in the Sistan and Baluchestan province.

The so-called Jaish al-Adl terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, which was one of the deadliest in the province in recent months.

The group has carried out numerous terrorist attacks in Iran, primarily in Sistan and Baluchestan.

Its tactics include the abduction of border guards as well as targeting civilians and police stations within the province to incite chaos and disorder.

In January, Iran launched a military operation during which the headquarters of the Pakistan-based terrorist group was targeted in missile strikes, destroying its infrastructure.

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