Sreekumar put pressure on witness to patch up with Teesta: SIT

AHMEDABAD : The special investigation team (SIT) on Friday told the city sessions court that retired DGP R B Sreekumar, an accused along with Teesta Setalvad and Sanjiv Bhatt, had pressured a witness to patch up with Setalvad or their infighting would benefit the then CM Narendra Modi.
To oppose Sreekumar’s bail plea in the case of fabrication of evidence for a purported 2002 riots conspiracy, the SIT filed an affidavit and cited a witness who revealed that after he began speaking against Setalvad for not fulfilling her promises to riot-hit people. Sreekumar called him on November 4, 2010. He further said Sreekumar asked him to reach a compromise with Setalvad and continue to work together, or their infighting would benefit Modi, sources said.
The SIT claimed that it was Sreekumar upon whose advice a written complaint was prepared at advocate Sohail Tirmizi’s office for Vithalbhai Pandya, father of former minister Haren Pandya who was killed in March 2003. This was after Vithalbhai accused Modi for his son’s murder. However, Vithalbhai refused to sign the complaint as it named many innocent people as accused.
The affidavit stated that Setalvad was meeting Sreekumar and Bhatt, though both police officers had nothing to do with relief work for riot victims. The SIT maintained, “It is not only a case of fabrication of documents and evidence, but also of influencing and tutoring witnesses and making them depose on pretyped affidavits. ”