“The heroes of the quest for justice, sitting in a comfortable environment in their air-conditioned office, can succeed in linking the failures of the state administration at various levels during such a horrific situation, knowing little or even the ground reality. Referring to and sustained efforts made by the duty holders to control the spontaneously evolving situation that has emerged after the mass violence across the state.”
, Allegations of misappropriation of funds: In early 2013, 12 residents of Gulberg Society in Gujarat wrote a letter to the Gujarat Police mentioning that Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand had wrongfully collected money in the name of bringing justice to the 2002 victims. . Gujarat riots, from the residents of the society. The letter also accused Teesta and Javed of collecting funds from the society to build a museum for the victims of the riots. In another letter to the Joint Commissioner of Crime Branch on 13 March 2013, residents, including the secretary of the society, said that the letter which was written earlier along with the official letterhead of the society was wrongly written by “some miscreants”. community. Javed’s NGO, Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), also issued a clear statement regarding the collection of funds and the construction of the museum. In its official statement, the NGO said that they had not collected any amount from the society, and whatever money they had collected (Rs 4,60,285) was through other national and international sources. The NGO further stated that the museum could not be built due to fluctuations in land prices.
, Illegal Foreign Funding: The law of India states that in order to accept donations from any international source, the parent organization must be registered under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA). From 2004 to 2014, Javed Anand’s NGO, CJP, accepted a total of $290,000 from an American organization called the Ford Foundation. CJP was accused of accepting donations without registering himself under the FCRA, in addition, the Ford Foundation was already on the Gujarat government’s watch list for interfering in the internal affairs of the state as well as India. In 2016, the Home Ministry conducted several investigations on the allegations and temporarily canceled the NGO’s license. An official statement issued by the MHA said,
“Prima facie violation of various provisions of FCRA was noticed. On-site inspection or raid of books and accounts and records were conducted at Juhu Tara office from 9-11 June 2015. On 9 September FCRA registration was suspended and a A show cause notice was issued to Teesta Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand. They were personally heard on 11 April 2016. On 16 June, the registration was canceled with the government with immediate effect.
, Allegations of spreading hatred: On 31 March 2018, Rais Khan Pathan, a close associate of the couple, filed an FIR against Teesta and Javed for “mixing religion with politics” and spreading religious hatred through their NGO Khoj. The NGO was founded by the couple with the aim of providing quality education to the people who cannot afford education. Pathan also accused the duo of embezzling Rs 1.4 crore given by the Indian government to their NGO between 2008 and 2014 as part of the National Education Policy. The police have registered an FIR against the couple under sections 153A and 153B of the IPC. In 2019, the couple was granted anticipatory bail by the Gujarat High Court.
