Gujarat: Yet another ex-IPS Rahul Sharma summoned in case against Teesta Setalvad

The Gujarat police’s Special Investigation Team (SIT), which is investigating the alleged fabrication of evidence and tutoring witnesses in the 2002 post-Godhra riots case against activist Teesta Setalvad, and two former IPS officials, has summoned yet another former IPS officer, Rahul Sharma, for interrogation.

SIT officials confirmed that Sharma has been summoned to record his statement. As of now, he is not officially being included among the accused persons but only called to question him.

The 1992-batch officer Sharma had taken voluntary retirement and is now a lawyer at the Gujarat High Court. He is being allegedly hounded for providing Call Detail Records (CDR) of the then ministers and other functionaries of the Sangh Pariwar during the riots to various inquiry commissions. Frustrated over constant tiff with the government, Sharma called it quits and became a lawyer.

He was cited as a key witness by Zakia Jafri, the widow of slain former Congress MP Ehsan Jafri, in her complaint against then chief minister Narendra Modi and others for their alleged roles in the communal riots.

A day after the Supreme Court’s verdict dismissing Zakia Jafri's petition against Modi in the 2002 riots, the Ahmedabad Crime Branch had on June 25 filed an FIR against Setalvad, Bhatt and Sreekumar. Among other things, the Supreme Court observed that “those who had kept the pot boiling with ulterior motives" for 16 long years must be in the dock "proceeded with in accordance with the law". The very next day the Gujarat police lodged the FIR.

The SIT has alleged that Setalvad and others colluded with politicians, including senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel to "destabilize" the then Gujarat Government led by Narendra Modi. The SIT has alleged that Setalvad took Rs 30 lakh in cash at different times from Patel.