Whither India? The Illustrative Case of Teesta Setalvad Arrest: A Brief (Updated) Account

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Sukla Sen

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Jun 26, 2022, 12:51:53 AM6/26/22
to foil-l, Say NO 2 UID Core Group

I/V.
It's, of course, an act of vicious retribution - at the moment of engineered triumph, but, quite likely, even more than that meant to be a chilling message to all those engaged in pushing back the evil regime.

<<Less than a day after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition appealing a lower court’s refusal to file a case against Narendra Modi for his role in Gujarat’s anti-Muslim violence of 2002, the state’s police have arrested one of the petitioners – activist Teesta Setalvad – for what they claimed was a conspiracy to send innocent persons to jail.

Setalvad was picked by the anti-terrorism squad (ATS) of the Gujarat Police from her house in Mumbai, taken to a local police station and then driven to Ahmedabad, her family told The Wire. It is unclear why the ATS detained the activist, though the case was registered by the crime branch of the Ahmedabad police.

The FIR cites various provisions of the Indian Penal Code including 468 (forgery for the purpose of cheating), 471 (using as genuine a forged document or electronic records), 120(B) (criminal conspiracy), 194 (giving or fabricating false evidence with the intent to procure conviction of capital offence),and 211 (false charge of offence made to injure). Also accused with Setalvad are two IPS officers from Gujarat, Sanjeev Bhatt – already in jail for another matter – and R.B. Sreekumar.

Sreekumar has also been arrested, according to reports. The former cop was arrested from his residence in Gandhinagar on Saturday afternoon and taken to the crime branch’s headquarters.

The three are accused of conspiring to mislead the Special Investigation Team tasked with probing the Gujarat riots and the role, if any, Modi played as chief minister in the unfolding of violence which took the lives of more than 1,200 people, most of them Muslim.>>


II. Aap Chronology Samjhiye:

Then the arrest follows.

Three consecutive episodes of the same serial.

III. AA. FIR by the Crime Branch, Ahmedabad Police:
BB. FIR by Teesta Setalvad:

IV. A Statement by Human Rights Activists Condemning the Arrest(s) and Appeal to Endorse and Protest:

V. The Latest:
Reached Ahmedabad around 4am.
The process has begun.
Her  phone and office phones, which had been seized without the necessary  panchnama, are now, reportedly, returned.
Had been roughed up by the officers and also abused badly by an ATS officer.

sukl...@gmail.com

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Jun 26, 2022, 2:27:55 AM6/26/22
to Dalits Media Watch, foil-l, Say NO 2 UID Core Group
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Sukla Sen

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Jun 28, 2022, 7:43:18 AM6/28/22
to foil-l

<<Mohammed Zubair was arrested Monday - weeks after he flagged ex-BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma's comments in the Prophet row.
The FIR against the journalist - a copy of which has been seen by Hindustan Times - was registered on the basis of a sub-inspector's complaint; the document is not online because of its sensitive nature, officials have said.
The complainant was monitoring social media when he came across a post seeking action against Zubair for a tweet [<Mohammed Zubair on Twitter: "Before 2014 : Honeymoon Hotel After 2014 : Hanuman Hotel. #SanskaariHotel https://t.co/1ri5i3IXy8" / Twitter>] that said: 'BEFORE 2014: Honeymoon Hotel. After 2014: Hanuman Hotel.'
"Words and the picture found to be used by Mohammed Zubair - @zoo_bear - against a particular religious community and are highly provocative and more than sufficient to incite feeling of hatred among people which can be detrimental for maintenance of public tranquillity," the FIR states.
Zubair's colleague and Alt News co-founder Pratik Sinha has alleged Zubair was arrested without notice - which is mandatory under law for the sections under which he has been held. He also said that no police person in the van in which Zubair was taken away was wearing any name tag.>>
(Ref.: <Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair won't surrender electronic devices: Sources | Latest News India - Hindustan Times>.)

Needless to mention that Nupur Sharma, and scores of others from the Hindutva gang - some publicly calling for genocide, are just roaming free.
Also relevant:
AA. <<Reuters partner ANI reported, citing Delhi police sources, that Zubair was arrested based on a complaint from a Twitter account that said he insulted Hindus in a 2018 post commenting on the renaming of a hotel after the Hindu monkey god Hanuman.>>
[The "Hindu monkey god Hanuman", btw, per traditions is considered a bachelor and a strict prctitioner of abstinence.]
(Ref.: <Delhi police arrest Muslim journalist Mohammed Zubair over tweet from 2018 | India | The Guardian>.))
BB. <<It is pertinent to note that the image to which the objection has been raised is taken from the 1983 comedy film Kissi Se Na Kehna, directed by Hrishikesh Mukherjee. The movie has aired on TV and other streaming platforms, and presumably has due clearance from the censor board.
...
Zubair is not the first to use the scene from the movie as a meme.
In 2018, The Indian Express had used the same scene as its feature image for an article on memes created by fans on 'Avengers: Infinity War' crossover.
...
The picture has also been posted by several other users on Twitter in the past few years, but has not been deemed as the cause of 'outraging religious feelings' as in Zubair's case.>>
(Ref.: < Kissi Se Na Kehna: The Tweet & the Handle That Led to Mohammed Zubair's Arrest (thequint.com)>.)
CC. Quite a few condemnations, including from top opposition politicians, have, instantaneously, followed: <‘Everyone Exposing BJP’s Hate a Threat’: Rahul, Owaisi, Politicians Condemn Zubair’s Arrest (thequint.com>.
A fragment from one comment is especially noteworthy::
1983 की एक फ़िल्म के सीन पर 2018 में किये गए ट्वीट पर 2022 में ऑल्ट न्यूज के सह संस्थापक मो. जुबेर को दिल्ली पुलिस ने किया गिरफ्तार।
लश्कर भी तुम्हारा, सरदार भी तुम्हारा, तुम झूठ को सच लिख दो अखबार भी तुम्हारा।

In the meanwhile, in the Teesta Setalvad case, one public intellectual, of some eminence, has offered a scathing criticism of the role played by the Indian Supreme Court:
<<Revenge for seeking justice. This is not coming from a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government. It is the Supreme Court, which calls for revenge against those who seek to pursue the cause of justice. It describes the long battle for justice fought in the courts as a nefarious design to keep the pot boiling. For some ulterior motive. And it wants them to be punished.
So, it is the Supreme court which condemns those who have the audacity to question officials. Not only that it seeks them to be put in the dock.
The court is heard by the law abiding Gujarat police and as its first response, Teesta Setalvad and Sreekumar, former DGP of the Gujarat police, are arrested promptly. Between the outrage by the court against the trouble-makers and the arrest was an interview in which the home minister of the Union government of India names the organisation of Teesta Setalvad and indicates that some officials of the state worked to defame the then state government and the chief minister.>>
(Ref.: <The Supreme Court Has Made Progress. It Now Directs ‘Those Seeking Justice’ to Be Put in the Dock (thewire.in)>)
A prominent analyst of legal issues, involving democratic rights in particular, has commented:
<<Indian SC's contribution to global jurisprudence is to decide an individual vs State case by telling the State to arrest the individual.
A remarkable constitutional innovation.>>
(Ref.: <Gautam Bhatia on Twitter: "Indian SC's contribution to global jurisprudence is to decide an individual vs State case by telling the State to arrest the individual. A remarkable constitutional innovation." / Twitter>.)
It bears mentioning that the chronology of events in this case is especially noteworthy. On the 24th in the forenoon [ref.: <Supreme Court Dismisses Zakia Jafri's Plea Against SIT Clean Chit To Narendra Modi In 2002 Gujarat Riots Larger Conspiracy Case (livelaw.in)>], the Supreme Court delivers the remarkable verdict: [ref.: <34207_2018_3_1502_36189_Judgement_24-Jun-2022.pdf (sci.gov.in)>] all those involved in such abuse of [the legal] process, need to be in the dock and proceeded with in accordance with law; in less than twenty four hours [ref.: <OTV on Twitter: "A tall leader fought this 18-19-yr-long fight without saying a word&braving all pain like 'vishpaan' of Lord Shankar...I saw him suffering through this very closely. Only a strong-willed person could've taken stand to not say anything as case was sub-judice: HM Amit Shah ANI https://t.co/MvAQF72C2K" / Twitter>] an interview [ref.: <Amit Shah breaks silence on 2002 Gujarat riots; exposes 'troika' over lies against PM Modi (republicworld.com)>] of the Union Home Minister to the ANI is all over the place where he, capitalising on the judgement, claims: [Teesta Setalvad had] given baseless information about the riots to the police. Within hours the Gujarat ATS(!) forces barge into her house in Mumbai and she is picked up.

Such an abomination has, however, not failed to attract global notice either. Ms. Mary Lawlor, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, has almost in the inmmediate wake has tweeted << Deeply concerned by reports of #WHRD Teesta Setalvad being detained by Anti Terrorism Sqaud of Gujarat police. Teesta is a strong voice against hatred and discrimination. Defending human rights is not a crime. I call for her release and an end to persecution by #Indian state.>> (Ref.: <Mary Lawlor UN Special Rapporteur HRDs on Twitter: "Deeply concerned by reports of #WHRD Teesta Setalvad being detained by Anti Terrorism Sqaud of Gujarat police. Teesta is a strong voice against hatred and discrimination. Defending human rights is not a crime. I call for her release and an end to persecution by #Indian state." / Twitter>.)
To be sure, such external censures are, essentially, meant to be essentially a particular naming and shaming. They're also expected to impact domestic opinions. In real life, the efficacy of such is found to be pretty limited. In our own neighborhood, in Sri Lanka and Myanmar full-scale genocides have been committed and even stronger censures made no visible impact. In contrast, the reactions of the oil producing countries to the insult to the Prophet, did evince some (limited) corrective measures.
Regardless, such censures are, of course, welcome.
--
Peace Is Doable


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