March 21, 2014
Press Release
CJP Rebuts Further Malafide Allegations by Gujarat
Government
The
Gujarat police continue to deal in blatant falsehoods, twisted facts,
deliberate jugglery of accounts and foul innuendos, with the malicious intent
of colouring the public discourse and prejudice the
public mind says
Citizens for Justice and Peace.
This Press Release specifically counters the malicious
lies in the Affidavit in Sur-Rejoinder filed by KN Patel, IO Crime Branch for
the Respondent State of Gujarat dated18.03.2014 in Ahmedabad (and replicated
with few changes in Mumbai dated 19.03.2014). For those newspapers/publications that published screaming headlines of
us misusing funds, without contacting any office bearers for clarifications, we
appeal in the interests of both fair and independent journalism and basic honesty
to print this Rebuttal with the same enthusiasm and prominence.
In a counter affidavit filed by her in the Sessions Court
in Ahmedabad on March 21, 2014, in response to the affidavit in sur-rejoinder
filed by the Gujarat police, Teesta Setalvad, Secretary, Citizens for Justice
and Peace, has accused the Gujarat police of once again resorting to blatant
falsehoods, twisted facts, deliberate jugglery of accounts and foul innuendos, with
the malicious intent of colouring the public
discourse and prejudice the public mind. What is most shocking is the brazen manner in
which the Gujarat police continue to spread falsehoods through signed
affidavits, indicating callous disregard of the justice process. This is
nothing short of perjury.
It is evident from the affidavits filed by the Gujarat
police that
they are in full possession of all our audited accounts, bank accounts
(organizational and personal) and personal credit card bills. All of these have
been obtained through highly questionable means, which itself is a subject for
investigation. That apart, the foul intent and malice of the Gujarat police is
more than evident from the fact that despite being in possession of dubiously
acquired information it continues to heap falsehood upon falsehood.
In its affidavit in sur-rejoinder, the Gujarat police
have claimed that a host of expenses of a purely personal nature incurred
through the personal credit card bills of Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand were
paid by Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) and Sabrang Trust. The police
cannot but know that this is a blatant lie. All it needed to do to know the
facts of the case was to tally the total expenses as shown in the credit card
bills with the amounts “reimbursed” to them by the two trusts. They have deliberately manipulated credit card
details from the personal accounts of both, paid from their independent
personal incomes as expenses incurred by them from public money.
Neither CJP nor Sabrang Trust has any debit/credit cards in
their respective names. For logistical convenience, with the full knowledge and
consent of the trustees and auditors of the two trusts, air and train tickets
are frequently booked online (using the personal credit cards of Teesta
Setalvad and Javed Anand). It is only such expenses strictly related to the legitimate
activities which are reimbursed by Sabrang Trust and CJP after due
verification. Despite being fully aware of this fact, the Gujarat police have
claimed, with obvious dubious motive, that a host of personal expenses,
including hair-cuts, purchase of grocery, shoes, jewellery etc. have been paid
for by the trusts.
Such expenses met out of public funds should “shock the
conscience of the court”, claims the sur-rejoinder. If anything, it is the
blatant lies on oath repeatedly indulged by the police that should stir the
conscience of court.
CJP and Sabrang Trust emphatically and categorically deny
the claim made in the affidavit in sur-rejoinder that cash withdrawals from the
two trusts totalling Rs. 75,28,000 (over many years) have been siphoned off or
pocketed by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand. That this too is an entirely
baseless allegation can be established through the accounts books and cash
vouchers of both CJP and Sabrang Trust.
Similarly, the sur-rejoinder claims that funds from the
bank accounts of CJP and Sabrang Trust running into lakhs have been transferred
into fixed deposits in the “family personal names” of Teesta Setalvad and Javed
Anand. CJP and Sabrang Trust challenge the Gujarat police to provide evidence
of even a single rupee thus transferred from the bank accounts of either of the
two trusts into fixed deposits in personal names. Instead, the Gujarat police,
functioning in nexus with one family of the Gulberg society and a former
employee of CJP cited as “witness” in the specious FIR, is functioning at the
behest of the political bigwigs in the state who are seriously affected by the
persistent struggle for justice aided by CJP.
On one hand, the sur-rejoinder rubbishes the contention
that all the amounts paid by CJP and Sabrang Trust to Sabrang Communications
and Publishing Pvt. Ltd. were towards shared-costs of repair and maintenance
expenses of office space and office equipment and shared staff. On the other
hand, the Gujarat police claims to have made the “discovery” that the
registered offices of all the three organizations – Nirant, Juhu Tara Road,
Juhu, Mumbai- 400049) are the same! The simple point that the issue of shared
costs would simply not arise if the three organizations had three different and
separate office space, office equipments and staff (both administrative and
technical/project staff), has escaped the Gujarat police.
The sur-rejoinder reiterates that only Rs. 2.49 lakh was
spent on Legal Aid expenses. We challenge the Gujarat police to provide proof
of this totally bogus claim. CJP has spent over Rs. 2 crore (nearly hundred
times the police claim) on Legal Aid to the victims-survivors of the state-sponsored
Gujarat pogrom and this can easily be established through accounts books,
voucher files and annually audited accounts. This deliberate underestimation is
deliberate and meant to prejudice the public mind.
In its rejoinder the Gujarat police also baselessly
claims that we have admitted many of its claims of having transferred crores of
funds from the public trusts to our personal accounts. We emphatically and
categorically deny having made any such admissions, except to the extent of
remunerations for performing specific duties and responsibilities as per Board
resolutions of CJP and Sabrang Trust and reimbursements towards expenses
incurred on legitimate activities of the two trusts. The campaign launched by the Ahmedabad Crime
Branch against the CJP and its Trustees is aimed at crippling the struggle for
justice and at maligning and defaming honest, hard working activists in the
public domain.
CJP believes that strong action needs to be launched
against the falsehoods made on oath as also the coercively manner in which accounting
details were obtained. Publications that irresponsibly published a one sided
picture without even attempting any clarifications from us are also guilty of
defamation and libel for which suitable action will be taken.
Attached is a copy of the Affidavit in Reply to the Sur-rejoinder filed in the Ahmedabad Sessions Court today.
Trustees:
I.M.
Kadri
Cyrus Guzder
Javed
Akhtar
Alyque
Padamsee
Anil Dharker
Ghulam Pesh Imam
Javed Anand
Rahul
Bose
Cedric Prakash
______________________________
Nirant,
Juhu Tara Road, Juhu, Mumbai – 400 049. Ph: 2660 2288 email: cjpindia@gmail.com,
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