Coordination of Democratic Rights Organisations (CDRO), strongly condemns the false implication and detention of prominent human rights activist Teesta Setalvad in a criminal case. An FIR has been registered against her along with R. B. Sreekumar, a former Director General of Gujarat Police, and Sanjiv Bhatt, another IPS officer currently sentenced to life imprisonment.
Teesta Setalvad and her organisation, Citizens for Justice and Peace has been relentlessly working with the victims of the Gujarat riot of 2002 in providing justice, relief and rehabilitation. Teesta Setalvad has been in the forefront of judicial battle and is instrumental in exposing the political forces behind the genocide of Muslims in Gujarat, post Godhra incidence. Primarily due to her untiring efforts, some of the mastermind of the riot, like Maya Kodnani, Babu Bajrangi and others.
Notwithstanding the SIT assessment and the court verdict based on it, it is a common perception and experience that such a large-scale genocide cannot be a spontaneous reaction to the Godhra incidence, and is a well-executed plan of the communal elements aligned with the Sangh Parivar.
CDRO is firmly of the view that the present case against Teesta Setalvad is a continuation of the earlier penal actions taken against her by the Gujarat Police and others, with the purpose of deterring her from seeking justice for victims of Gujrat genocide. This is also evident in the zeal with which she was picked up by the Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) of Gujarat. Why was ATS sent and how did they enter Ms Setalvad’s house in Mumbai and initially refused to let Ms Setalvad talk to her lawyer? Why did they act in such a manner that Ms. Setalvad got badly hurt? CDRO strongly believes that defending the rights of the victims cannot be construed as a crime and can, by no figment of imagination, be termed as conspiratorial or terrorism in nature.
CDRO demands:
- Cancellation of present FIR and withdrawal of earlier proceedings against Teesta Setalvad and her companions.
- Justice, relief and rehabilitation for all post-Godhra genocide victims in Gujarat.
Asish Gupta
Co-ordinator, CDRO
Constituent Organisations of CDRO:
Association for Democratic Rights (AFDR, Punjab); Association for Democratic Rights
(AFDR, Haryana), Association for Protection of Democratic Rights (APDR, West Bengal); Asansol Civil Rights Association(West Bengal); Bandi Mukti Committee(West Bengal); Civil Liberties Committee (Andhra Pradesh); Civil Liberties Committee (Telangana); Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (Maharashtra); Committee for Protection of Democratic Rights (CPDR TamilNadu); Coordination for Human Rights (Manipur); Manab Adhikar Sangram Samiti (Assam); Naga Peoples Movement for Human Rights ; People’s Committee for Human Rights (Jammu and Kashmir); Peoples Democratic Forum(Karnataka); Jharkhand Council for Democratic Rights (Jharkhand); Peoples Union For Democratic Rights (Delhi); Peoples Union for Civil Rights (Haryana), Campaign for Peace & Democracy in Manipur, Delhi; Janakeeya Manushyavakasha Prasthaanam, Kerala
