Setalvad enacted larger conspiracy to destabilise Gujarat govt, took Rs 30 lakh from Ahmed Patel

New Delhi, July 16: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) said that activist Teesta Setalvad was enacting a larger conspiracy to destabilise the Gujarat government soon after a train was set on fire at Godhra in 2002.

In its affidavit in the city vicil sessions court filed on Friday, the SIT while challenging Setalavad's bail plea said that she had received financial assistance from a top leader of a rival political party.

The SIT which is probing the role of Setalvad along with R B Sreekumar, then ADGP, Armed Unit, for criminal conspiracy and forgery. The SIT cited statements of a witness and said that the conspiracy was carried out at the behest of late Congress leader Ahmed Patel.

"The statements of these two witnesses establish that the conspiracy was enacted by Setalvad along with other accused persons, at the behest of Late Shri Ahmed Patel, the then Member of Parliament from Rajya Sabha and political advisor to the President of the Indian National Congress," the SIT's affidavit read.

The affidavit also said that Setalvad held meetings with Patel and also received Rs 5 lakh at the first instance from a witness on the instructions of the late Congress leader. She received Rs 25 lakh more two days later again at the behest of Patel.

This money was not part of any relief-related corpus and the presence of several political leaders during the period of this meeting is corroborated by the material collected during the investigation, the SIT also said.

It also said that Setalvad had met with IPS officers R B Sreekumar and Sanjiv Bhatt who were not involved in the relief work in their official capacity or positions.