GUJARAT GOVERNMENT AFTER HUMAN RIGHTS ACTIVISTS
PUCL (People’s Union for Civil Liberties) strongly condemns Gujarat Government’s campaign of calumny against and attempt to frame under false charges human rights defender Teesta Setlavad, of Citizens of Justice and Peace, lawyer M.M. Tirmizi, victims survivors of Lunwada massacre and media person Rahul Singh for exposing Gujarat Police’s callousness and cruelty in the Lunwada massacre and mass burial case.
PUCL fears that emboldened by Dr. Sen’s conviction under trumped up charges in Chhattisgarh, the Gujarat Government made a swift move to arrest Teesta and other human rights defenders, lawyers media persons and others, under trumped charges of doctoring with evidence in the Lunawada case. We see this as Gujarat Government ploy to influence the courts before its imminent judgment in the Lunawada massacre case.
A Gujarat police team on Wednesday was at the residence of journalist Rahul Singh to bring him to Gujarat for interrogation in connection with a story he had done in 2005 on graves of riot victims. Rahul Singh’s father N K Singh, who is the resident editor of a leading national daily here, said that some officials from the Gujarat police came to his house on Wednesday morning. Singh said that the police told him that they wanted to take Rahul to Gujarat for interrogation in connection with the story that he had done. He said that according to the police team, details of what would happen to Rahul would be decided only after he reaches Gujarat.
Singh said the police team told him that they had come with summons for Rahul although they did not have any warrant for him. He said that the team told him that they would paste the summons on his house, but they did not do so. The story was done by correspondents of three news channels and all of them have been made co-accused in the case along with Teesta Setalvad.