The CBI on Tuesday carried out searches on the premises of social activist Teesta Setalvad, the office of her publication firm Sabrang Communications and its directors in connection with a case registered against her firm for allegedly accepting illegal foreign donations without registration and prior permission from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
A week after it registered a case against Messrs. Sabrang Communications & Publishing Private ltd, its directors Teesta, her journalist-husband Javed Anand, Peshimam Gulam Mohammed and others under Section 120-b (criminal conspiracy) of IPC and provisions of Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) 1976 and 2010, the CBI carried out searches at three locations in Mumbai.
There was no formal word from the CBI till the evening as to what the investigators had found during their searches on the premises of Teesta, her publication firm located at Juhu-Santa Cruz in north-west Mumbai and all those actively associated with the firm.
Talking to media persons here, Teesta said that she and others associated with Messrs Sabrang Communications had offered to cooperate fully with the investigations.
“We had written a letter to CBI offering full cooperation to their investigations... So we don’t understand the rationale behind this entire operation,” Teesta said.
Dubbing the searches on the premises of Sabrang Communications and those associated with it as mere political vendetta, Teesta – who had crusaded for the 2002 Gujarat riot victims – charged that the Government was using the “caged parrot” (CBI) to “harass and humiliate” her and her associates.
“We believe that it (CBI) is a caged—parrot in operation and it is nothing but a political vendetta and they are trying to humiliate and intimidate us... The team here is very professional but we don’t know where all this will end,” she said.
The Union Home Ministry had on June 26 ordered a CBI inquiry into the functioning of Messrs Sabrang Communications and seized one of its bank accounts. The allegation against the Teesta-run publication firm is that it had – in violation of FCRA -- accepted a donation of USD 2.9 lakh from Ford Foundation without getting clearance of the Home Ministry.
later on July 8, the CBI registered a case against Messrs. Sabrang Communications, represented by its directors Teesta, Javed Anand, Peshimam Mohammed and others under section 120-B of and various other sections linked to it and sections 3, 11 & 19 of FCRA, 2010 and sections 23 and, 25 of FCRA, 1976 on the allegations of criminal conspiracy for illegal acceptance of foreign contribution without registration and prior permission from Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
Teesta, who has been accused by the Gujarat police of having misappropriated funds meant for setting up of a riots museum, alleged she was being persecuted for having fought for the riot victims and taken up cudgels against the ruling BJP after the 2002 Gujarat riots.