The name 'Teesta' invokes in me the pristine images of the river that springs out of the Himalayan splendour, flowing down the valleys of green purity and merging into the same expanse of water into which the holiest of our rivers debouch. As I close my eyes in its remembrance, a calm serenity invades me. That is 'Teesta' for me - a sublime flow of truth, which is unpolluted and 'un-colluded'.
But when I leave behind the rawness of nature and return to the harness of urban India, 'Teesta' is a different river for me. It springs out Himalayan blunders, flows down the alleys of collusion and debouches into a ghastly pool of conspiratorial social space. As I close my eyes in its remembrance, a violent shock pervades me. That is 'Teesta' for you - a ruthless mix of untruth, polluted and colluded.
The origins lie in the now famous Best Bakery case following the ghastly tragedy of Godhra in 2002. Teesta Setalvad, the more than active social activist of Citizens for Justice and Peace, a Mumbai based NGO spearheaded a movement on the post-Godhra riots and set the nation transfixed to the Best Bakery case with its prime witness Zahira Sheikh. If there is any episode that collected more or equal TRP ratings on the Television other than 'Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi' in the modern times in India, it is the documentaries on the 'Best Bakery case'. Thanks to Teesta for building a huge hype around this case and raising Zahira from her own personal tragedies to the national scene of expectation and anticipation. But it is only when Justice Pasayat , Supreme Court severely reprimanded Zahira in 2006 and declared that "this is a classic example of a case where evidences were tampered with and witnesses won over, did the colours of Teesta begin to show up. Zahira was sentenced to an year of imprisonment for the contempt of court, but Teesta remained a free flow - however much mudslides it gathered. However, Zahira urged the Hon'ble Court to probe the assets of Teesta as she had forced her to give 'wrong testimony'.
Did this account confuse you? The story does not end at that and is not as simple as such. It raises far too many questions than it answers. Why did Zahira Sheikh revolt against her benefactor, how did Teesta Setalvad manage to build an army of witnesses, what resources sustained the case, what were the broad political underlines for the case and why do people prepare webs of falsehood to create perceptions that appear to be truth in the initial stages?
Mr. Hiren Jhaveri of Ahmedabad began asking some of these questions and came up with startling answers.
Mr. Jhaveri found out that Teesta paid a total of Rs. 12 lakhs to 14 persons who were witnesses in the 2002 riot cases. Ten of these people received Rs. 1 lakh each while four of the rest received Rs. 50,000 each. They were all in the form of Demand Drafts (Nos. 567540 to 567554 dated 01.08.2007),issued by Punjab and Sindh Bank , Gol Market Branch, New Delhi . In return, the recipients returned a signed receipt, thanking Teesta for help.
All these witnesses come from poor economic background and the money paid to them is no doubt a small fortune in their empty hands. In a nation of empty hands and hungry bellies, you don't need a river of strength to erode the honesty and subvert the loyalty. Teesta was too strong a current to oppose for these men and women and they were carried away by the lure. But alas! The firm banks of the Court of Supreme Justice could not be eroded or breached.
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Yes. Many tributaries colluded with Teesta to flow in unison on the plains of dishonesty and vested political interest. Teesta's main course was to erode the prosperous banks of Gujarat, undermine the rock stability of its governance and subvert the minds of millions of Indians on the horizon of modern India. The river of collution is a brazen expression of enormous power of vested interests, their reach, ramifications and endless energy to erode civility and civic liberty. The river of collution has no hesitation to flood the corridors of justice and public life.
Teesta - the river of collution is a serpentine strength of undeterred underflow in public life.
V,K. Saxena
President
National Council for Civil Liberties ,
Ahmedabad - 380 009
web: www.ncclindia.org
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