Ahmed Patel gave Teesta Rs 30 lakh to destabilise Gujarat govt: Gujarat SIT

The Gujarat government’s special investigation team (SIT) has said that activist Teesta Setalvad was enacting a larger conspiracy to destabilise an elected state government soon after a train in Godhra was set in fire in 2002, and had received financial assistance of Rs 30 lakh from the late Congress leader Ahmed Patel for this.

In its affidavit in the Ahmedabad civil sessions court on Friday, challenging Setalvad’s bail plea, the SIT – formed to probe Setalvad along with R B Sreekumar, then ADGP, Armed Unit, and former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt for criminal conspiracy and forgery – cited statements of a witness and said the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of Patel, who was political advisor to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at the time.

Also read: Teesta Setalvad’s detention: The perils of choosing vindictiveness

“The statements of these two witnesses establish that the conspiracy was enacted by Setalvad along with other accused persons, at the behest of Late Shri Ahmed Patel, the then Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha and political advisor to the President of the Indian National Congress,” the affidavit said.

‘Money in two tranches’

Setalvad held meetings with Patel and also received Rs 5 lakh at the first instance from a witness on the instructions of the Congress leader, the SIT said, adding she received Rs 25 lakh more two days later, again at the behest of Patel.

Patel passed away in November 2020 due Covid-19.

The cash given to the activist was not part of any relief-related corpus and the presence of several political leaders during the period of this meeting is corroborated by the material collected in the investigation, the SIT said.

It further said that Setalvad also met former IPS officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt, who were not involved in any relief work in their official capacity or positions.

Investigation still underway: SIT

It cited another witness to claim that Setalvad in 2006 had asked a Congress leader why the party was giving “chance to only Shabana and Javed” and not making her a member of the Rajya Sabha.

The SIT also opposed the bail application on the grounds that the investigation against Setalvad is still underway and if released, she may attempt to intimidate witnesses and tamper with evidence.

Also read: Know more about Teesta Setalvad, who fought for Gujarat riot victims

Gujarat Congress spokesperson Manish Doshi said he was not fully aware of the contents of the affidavit. “We will be able to comment only after fully studying the matter,” he said. A Congress leader in Delhi, who did not wish to be named, told Hindustan Times: “Dead people don’t tell tales.”