On 25 June, social activist Teesta Setalvad, a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was arrested. A Reuters report revealed that the police had accused her of tutoring witnesses, forging paperwork and fabricating evidence in cases pertaining to the 2002 Gujarat riots.
Setalvad has doggedly pursued justice for the victims and alleged that Narendra Modi, who was then the state’s chief minister, had failed to stop the riots which killed over 1,000 people, mostly Muslims. Mr Modi was absolved by an Indian Supreme Court inquiry in 2012. Setalvad’s arrest came soon after the top court had dismissed another petition questioning his exoneration.
