Teesta ‘evasive’, so cops get more time to probe case against her

A metropolitan court has extended the deadline for police investigation into a defamation case against Teesta Setalvad by 15 days after the police submitted that the activist had not been cooperating in the probe and that related documentary evidence were yet to be collected.

The case was filed by Rais Khan Pathan, a former associate of Setalvad who has accused her of linking him with VHP and RSS in articles published in her magazine.

On Thursday, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone V) Parikshita Rathod, who is investigating the case, submitted an application in the court of magistrate T S Brahmbhatt and sought 15 more days to complete the probe. Rathod stated that Setalvad had not been cooperating in the investigation, resulting in delays.

According to sources, the police had twice visited Setalvad's office in Mumbai to record her statement but she was not present. The police recorded the statement of her husband, Javed Anand, and collected documentary evidence.

When Rathod came to know that Setalvad was to land at the Ahmedabad airport on Wednesday, she sent a team comprising a woman constable and a police inspector to bring her to record her statements. However, Setalvad allegedly refused, saying she would call Rathod.

Later, the activist telephoned Rathod and called her to the Drive-In Road office of Prashant, an NGO, where she was present along with her two lawyers, including S M Vohra. The police "interrogated" Setalvad for about two-and-a-half hours after which she left, saying she had a flight to catch.

About two months ago, Pathan had filed a defamation suit against Setalvad following which magistrate Brahmbhatt ordered a judicial inquiry into the allegations, asking Rathod to complete the probe in 60 days. The deadline ends on September 23.

Pathan accused Setalvad of publishing defamatory remarks against him in her magazine Communalism Combat and websites of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) by linking him with VHP and other Hindu extremist outfits.

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