SC asks Guj to reply on pleas to defreeze a/c of Teesta,others

New Delhi, Aug 17 (PTI) The Supreme Court today soughtthe response of Gujarat Government on the pleas filed bysocial activist Teesta Setalvad, her husband Javed Anand andtwo NGOs challenging the freezing of their accounts by theCrime Branch of Ahmedabad Police. A bench of justices Dipak Misra and U U Lalit issuednotice to the state and Additional Solicitor General TusharMehta said they would file their response within two weeks. The court has now fixed the matter for hearing onSeptember 21. Teesta, her husband and the two NGOs — Sabrang Trust andCitizens for Justice and Peace — have approached the apexcourt challenging the October 7 verdict of the Gujarat HighCourt which had rejected their pleas for defreezing theirpersonal bank accounts. The action of the Ahmedabad Police had come soon afterthe Crime Branch had started probing a case in which Setalvadand others are accused of embezzling Rs 1.51 crore collectedto convert Gulberg Society — where 69 people were killedduring the post-Godhra riots — into a 2002 riots museum. The high court had upheld the verdict of a lower court inthis regard observing that the probe was at a serious point inthe alleged case of Gulberg society fund embezzlement. PTI ABASJK RKS AGDV