Saying that it was "unfortunate" that her father's name is being used "for political conspiracies to malign the opposition," Mumtaz Patel, the daughter of senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel on Saturday, raised questions over the alleged revelation by asking what stopped the government from investigating him while he was still alive.
On Friday, the Special Investigation Team's (SIT) claimed in an affidavit that Mumbai activist Teesta Setalvad, ex DGP RB Sreekumar and ex DIG Sanjiv Bhatt and others acted "at the behest" senior Congress leader late Ahmed Patel to "destabilize" the then Gujarat government and implicate the then chief minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 riot cases. The affidavit was filed in response to a regular bail application moved by Setalvad.
"It only shows that even after his death, his name holds significance. Although we were never part of his works, I can say that such investigations should have been done while he was still alive. It is very unfortunate that after his death his name is being used to make news or for TRP," Mumtaz Patel, daughter of late Ahmed Patel, told DH when asked about SIT's claims.
Later, she also tweeted that her father's name is being "used for political conspiracies to malign the opposition." She questioned why uptil 2020 the centre didn't prosecute her father for "hatching such a big conspiracy." In another tweet she said, "So their campaign for Gujarat election has begun by dragging @ahmedpatel ‘s name in conspiracy theories. They did it before election when he was alive & are still doing it when he is no more. #isi #terroristinhospital #sandesara #TeestaSetalvad."
On Friday, the Gujarat government appointed-SIT while opposing bail plea of Setalvad claimed that as part of a "larger conspiracy" Setalvad and others acted to "destabilize" the then Gujarat government "at the behest of late Ahmed Patel, the then member of parliament from Rajya Sabha and political advisor to the president of Indian National Congress."
Citing two unnamed witnesses, the affidavit claimed that Setalvad received Rs 30 lakh in different meetings days after the 2002 riots. "She received Rs 5 lakh at the first instance, where the money was given to her by one witness on the instruction of late Ahmed Patel. Two days later, in a meeting conducted at the Government Circuit House, Shahibaug between late Ahmed Patel and the applicant, the said witness had handed over Rs 25 lakh more to the applicant on the instruction of late Ahmed Patel," the affidavit stated. It added that the amount was not part of any relief related corpus.
The affidavit also claimed that meetings were held at Patel's residence in Ahmedabad as well as in Delhi. "The witness statements recorded show that on various occasions when Teesta Setalvad and Sanjiv Bhatt used to meet at the latter's (Patel) residence, talks used to be concerning the collection of funds in the name of riot affected persons," the affidavit claimed. It also mentioned that several meetings were held at Patel's Delhi's residence where he met Bhatt four months after the riots in "a clandestine manner."
When asked if SIT had approached her or anyone in the family, Mumtaz told DH that "no one approached her." She also added that none of them were involved in her father's work.
Setalvad and Sreekumar are lodged at Sabarmati Central Jail while Bhatt is under SIT custody for questioning. They were booked after Supreme Court's adverse remarks for allegedly fabricating evidence in 2002 post Godhra riot related cases to seek conviction.