Activist Teesta Setalvad who runs foreign funded NGOs was booked by Ahmedabad Police on late Saturday following a complaint from Raees Khan, her former employee for misusing Central Government fund during 2010 to 2013.
Reacting on the complaint, police booked Teesta under Sections 13 (1)(D) and 13(2) of Prevention of Corruption Act as well as under sections 120 B, 153 A, 153 B, 406, 409 and 420 of IPC. Khan said in the complaint that Teesta’s NGO Sabrang Trust allegedly got funds in tune with Rs 1.40 crore from Union Ministry of Human Resource Development fraudulently.
The complaint names Teesta and her husband Javed Anand, resident of Nirant Bungalow, situated on Juhu Tara road in Mumbai. Both are directors of the Sabrang Trust. Khan had worked closely with Setalvad and her husband post 2002 Gujarat riots.
According to Khan, Setalvad misused the funds she received for education related activities for KHOJ project under ‘the Scheme for assistance for experimental and innovative programme for education at the elementary stage includes non-formal education’ linked to Department of School Education and the Sarva Sikhsah Abhiyan.
During the period, the HRD Ministry had asked for NCERT’s opinion to include KHOJ in the scheme. According to complainant the fund received for KHOJ was utilised for personal purposes.
Teesta, 56, is also the secretary of Citizen for Justice and Peace (CJP), an organisation formed for fighting for justice for victims of communal violence in the Gujarat in 2002. The CJP is co-petitioner seeking a criminal trial against 62 people, including politicians and Government officials in connection with the 2002 riots. She is the daughter of Atul Setalvad, a Mumbai based lawyer. Her grandfather was India’s first Attorney General.
She was accused of pressuring Zaheera Shekh, the key witness in the Best Bakery case, to make certain statements, leading to the unprecedenated transfer of the case outside Gujarat.
In August 2005, the Supreme Court of India committee absolved her of the charges of inducement levelled against her by Zaheera and awarded a one-year jail sentence to Zaheera for perjury.
