Teesta Setalvad, Anand embezzled trust funds: Gujarat Police tells High court

Gujarat Police today told the Bombay High Court that social activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand misappropriated over Rs 2 crore received as donations for the victims of the 2002 post-Godhra riots.

"Donations received for public purposes prima facie appear to have been frittered away towards shopping, entertainment and other expenses of a purely personal nature," it said in an affidavit.

This is the second affidavit filed by the Cyber Crime Cell of Ahmedabad Crime Branch opposing the petition of Setalvad and Anand seeking to quash the FIR registered against them for misappropriation of funds.

They have also sought a direction to Gujarat Police to release their bank accounts which are attached.

Gujarat Police had made the same allegations in its first affidavit.

A victim of Gulbarg housing society incident, where former Congress MP Ehsan Jaffrey and 67 others were killed during the riots, has lodged a complaint with Ahmedabad police against Setalvad, Anand and their NGOs 'Citizens for Justice and Peace' and 'Sabrang Trust'.

They had collected the funds for building a museum at the society but embezzled the money, it says.

According to Gujarat Police's affidavit, out of the Rs 7.16 crore received, Rs 2.67 crore were transferred to the personal accounts of Setalvad and Javed, and used towards payment of their credit card dues.

The division bench of Justices N H Patil and Anuja Prabhudessai today granted two weeks' time to the petitioners to file a reply.