The Gujarat police have accused activist Teesta Setalvad and her husband of embezzling funds from their charity for "wine and luxury" in an affidavit filed in the Supreme Court on Wednesday.
Setalvad, who runs the organisation Sabrang Trust to help 2002 Gujarat riot victims in their legal cases, has been charged by the CBI of receiving Rs 1.5 crore from the Ford Foundation by violating the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, and embezzling the funds from her organisation.
The Gujarat police have accused the couple of siphoning 45% of the total funds that Sabrang Trust received between 2008 and 2013.
In the affidavit, the Gujarat police claimed that Setalvad and her husband Javed Anand made expenses of a 'very personal nature' from the funds given to their NGO, such as for consuming wine, purchasing CDs for movies, for dining at top restaurants in Mumbaiand even for items such as sanitary napkins, the Press Trust of India reported.
Among the other items that the police accused Setalvad and her husband of purchasing using their charity's funds were 'ear buds, wet wipes, nail clippers, ladies personal items, several books including romantic novels like Mills and Boons and Thrillers like Total Control, Blackberry phone and clothes', according to PTI.
The police also reportedly accused the activist of tampering with evidence, while making a case against her anticipatory bail plea.
Acc to affidavit, Teesta Setalvad and her husband "misappropriated" funds of charity for personal nature like wine and luxury.
— ANI (@ANI_news) July 22, 2015
Only last week, CBI officers raided Setalvad's Mumbai house and offices and later also went on to call her a "threat to national security".
However, Setalvad's lawyers and several activists have called it a case of political retribution, claiming that she is being persecuted by the BJP government in Gujarat for filing cases against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the State's Chief Minister during the 2002 riots.
