Gulbarg fund embezzlement: High Court stays Teesta's arrest till Apr 4

AHMEDABAD: The Gujarat High Court today stayed till April 4 the arrest of social activist Teesta Setalvad, her husband Javed Anand and son of slain Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, Tanvir, in connection with the alleged fund embezzlement case involving the riot-ravaged Gulbarg Society.

Justice Anant Dave sent a notice to city Crime Branch while hearing the anticipatory bail application of Setalvad and others, and posted the matter for next hearing on April 4.

Setalvad, Anand, Tanvir, Gulbarg Society secretary Feroz Gulzar and chairman Salim Sandhi had yesterday moved the high court after a sessions court here rejected their bail plea on March 25.

In his arguments before the high court, Setalvad's counsel Dushyant Dave said the probe agency had falsely implicated Setalvad and others.

"Applicant's accounts have been regularly audited by several monitoring agencies like charity commissioner, income tax commissioner," Dave told the court.

"No query has come out during the audit, so on what basis the probe agency have been naming the applicants," he said.

While rejecting anticipatory bail to Setalvad and others, the sessions court judge had observed that a prima facie documentary evidence existed against the accused, which needs a thorough probe.

The crime branch had registered an FIR against Setalvad and others for allegedly usurping Rs 1.51 crore collected by them for turning Gulbarg Society into a mausoleum.

"The fund was used for other purpose by using different credit cards and the donation amount was not even used for making a mausoleum," the sessions court order had said.

Twelve residents of Gulbarg Society had demanded Rs 1.51 crore from Setalvad last year, alleging that money collected in their name was never distributed.

Setalvad and Anand have also sought quashing of an FIR registered against them before the Bombay high court on which the order was kept reserved on March 26.

68 people, including former MP Ehsan Zafri, were killed by a mob at Gulbarg Society here on February 28, 2002 when communal riots were at peak in the state in the aftermath of Godhra incident.