Sabrang Trust, CJP do not see themselves above law; expect others to do so as well

Sabrang Trust, headed by well-known human rights activist, Teesta Setalvad, issued the following statement following a visit by an inspection team of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India, to inspect its and Centre for Justice and Peace's accounts and records in an embezzlement case:
Following the letter from the Gujarat Government to the Union Ministry of Home Affairs, a team of four senior officers from the Monitoring Unit of the Foreign Contribution Regulation (FCRA) department, New Delhi visited the registered offices of Sabrang Trust and Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP) for an inspection of the accounts and records of both the trusts.
The inspection team was led by a Deputy Secretary of the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India and he was accompanied by three Assistant Directors from the FCRA department’s Monitoring Unit.
Executive functionaries of CJP and Sabrang Trust, Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, extended full co-operation to the inspection team which spent three full days (April 6-8) scrutinizing the original accounts and other records of CJP. From April 9-11 they similarly examined the original accounts and other records of Sabrang Trust. Several hundred photocopies of the original accounts and other records were provided as requested by the inspection team. Soft copies of some other accounts related details were also provided on DVD.
We are happy to record that throughout the week-long inspection, the Inspection Team members headed by the Deputy Secretary, expressed their appreciation of the courtesies and the full co-operation extended to them by the executives and the staff of Sabrang Trust and CJP.
It may also be noted that in connection with the ongoing investigation by the Crime Branch, Ahmedabad police, into the alleged embezzlement of funds by Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand, Sabrang Trust and CJP have already provided over 20,354 documents (hard and soft copies) to the investigation officer. Further, both Teesta Setalvad and Javed Anand have even appeared for personal interrogation on December 15-16, 2014 and January 5-6, 2015.
The trustees and office bearers of Sabrang Trust and CJP do not see themselves as above the law. They believe in the law of the land and expect others to do so as well. We believe that neither Sabrang Trust nor CJP has violated the provisions of the FCRA Act or for that matter any law of the land.

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