Amid lots of hue and cry over the rehabilitation of the Gujarat riot victims, very little attention has been paid on how the money donated for the victims is being utilised. Despite donations from across the world, why many of them are still staying in rented houses. Contradictory to condition of the riot victims, bank balances of those NGOs, which are collecting funds in the name of providing financial help to them, are swelling.
Just four months back, the victims of the Gulbarg Society raised question over credentials of social activist Teesta Setalvad and her NGOs. According to them, she had collected huge amount using their names but they have not received anything.
At a time when Setalvad’s credentials are under suspicion, financial transactions of two Mumbai-based NGOs in which Teesta holds key positions Sabrang Trust and Citizen for Justice & Peace (CJP) revealed transfer of huge fund from the accounts of these NGOs to Teesta and her relatives’ personal accounts.
According to sources monitoring NGO activities, Sabrang Trust, which has only three trustees from the same family namely Teesta, her husband Javed Anand and her sister Amily Setalvad has received Rs1.37 crore during April 2007 to April 2013. The amounts donated by foreign donors were credited in trust’s FCRA account no. 369102010802885 with the Union Bank of India, Mumbai.
Interestingly, around Rs20 lakh and Rs19.20 lakh were transferred to saving banks accounts of Teesta and Javed respectively from the Trust’s FCRA account. Their firm Sabrang Communication also got Rs33.43 lakh from the same account. Fund of Rs71,000 was transferred to their daughter Tamara’s account too. For reasons best known to Setalvad and other trustees, cash withdrawal during the period was as high as Rs12 lakh from this account.
Details pertaining to transactions from FCRA account no. 01404000204736 with the IDBI Bank, Mumbai of the CJP are also equally surprising. The CJP received Rs95.19-lakh foreign donation in this account during April 12, 2007 and April 4, 2013. Sources tracking the transactions of this account revealed that Rs6.45 lakh and Rs2.43 lakh were transferred from the CJP account to Teesta and Sabrang Communication’s accounts respectively during the same period. Teesta and Javed Anand, being signatories in this account, have also transferred an amount of Rs30.43 lakh to the CJP’s savings bank account from this FCRA account.
Setalvad and Javed are drawing Rs40,000 each as monthly salary from Sabrang Trust, says source close to the activities of the Trust. Even their young daughter Tamara is getting salary of Rs7,500. Trustees getting monthly salary from the Trust which is formed for a social causes is unheard, said the source.
From 2002 to May 2013, nearly Rs1.50 crore has been deposited in Setalvad’s SB account no. 369102010003883 with the Union Bank of India at Mumbai. Her husband Javed’s account with the same bank also received Rs92.21 lakh during the period. The couple also has accounts in IDBI Bank in which they received Rs61.48 lakh and Rs36.23 lakh respectively between April 30, 2005 and March 31, 2013. An amount of Rs3.52 lakh was also deposited in their daughter Tamara’s account through multiple transactions.
Sources said that Teesta and Javed received around Rs2.11 crore and Rs1.28 crore in their Savings Bank accounts in IDBI and Union Bank in last 11 years. The couple has invested money in fixed deposits, shares and mutual funds, said sources, adding how it is possible to accumulate such a massive amount from the salaries Setalvad and her family members are getting.
It is worth mentioning here that balances in the personal accounts of Teesta and Javed in the Union Bank of India were NIL from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. From January 1, 2003 to May 31, 2013, after the Gujarat riots, Rs1,49,44,85 and Rs92,21,191 were deposited in the SB accounts of Teesta and Javed respectively.
Rais Khan Pathan, who was associated with Setalvad since 1992, says that her financial condition before the Gujarat riots in 2002 was not good. Ever since the CJP was formed in 2002 after the riots and five years later Sabrang Trust, suddenly her lifestyle changed and her bank balance kept on swelling.
“She promised to develop museum at ruined Gulbarg Society way back in 2007. More than Rs1 crore was collected for the purpose. Later on she dropped the plan. The residents (all Muslims) are now demanding that the money which were collected over the bodies of those who died in this society should be distributed among the riot victims as it was taken in their name,” says Pathan.
Teesta and her family members are taking hefty salaries from their Trust, he said, adding, “In that case how can she project herself as social activist being an employee of a trust.”
When INN contacted Teesta, she denied to comment on the matter and refused to talk to this correspondent.
No comments:
Post a Comment