Last month, a name was widely discussed throughout the political corridor. The name was Teesta Setalvad. She was detained by the police for fabricating false evidence and lying through her teeth to make a career out of riots. After Teesta Setalvad, another name is now making rounds on the news portals. Yes, it is time for Medha Patkar to face the music.
FIR against Medha Patkar for the misuse of funds
The reports have emerged suggesting that an FIR has been registered against Medha Patkar and 11 others in Madhya Pradesh’s Barwani district. The FIR has been filed after a villager complained about the alleged misuse of funds that were collected for managing educational facilities for tribal students. The funds were used by Narmada Bachao Andolan leader for a “political and anti-national agenda”.
Ms Patkar, however, has denied the allegations saying that it is “wrong”. She also said that she had a full account and audit of the expenses hinting that there are political reasons behind the allegations.
Barwani superintendent of police Deepak Kumar Shukla stated that “As the case is related to old transactions, a detailed investigation will be carried out.”
One Pritamraj Badole, a resident of Temla Bujurg village, had alleged that “Narmada Navnirman Abhiyan (NNA), a trust registered in Mumbai, misused funds collected for running residential educational facilities for tribal students of the Narmada Valley in Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra.”
Read more: Champagne socialist Medha Patkar set to be prosecuted for concealing criminal cases
Badole also told that “NNA had received ₹13.50 crore from various sources in the past 14 years but these funds were used for a “political and anti-national agenda.”
Along with Medha Patkar, those named in the FIR are Kailash Awasya, Parveen Rumi Jahangir, Mohan Patidar, Vijaya Chouhan, Ashish Mandloi, Sanjay Joshi, Kewal Singh Vasave, Shyam Patil, Noorji Padvi, Keshav Vasave and Sunit S. R.
“The case is related to two States – Madhya Pradesh and Maharashtra. The documents and facts will be verified and all the parties concerned will be allowed to present their sides and facts. Further legal steps will be taken as per the facts that emerge during the investigation,” the Barwani SP said.
Medha Patkar, denying the allegation stated that the complainant could be an associate of the RSS and ABVP. She reiterated, “The funds were used appropriately and the ‘jiwanshalas’ being run at present have been there for the past three decades. The organisation has been involved in rehabilitation for decades. It has always given replies to such allegations with documents.”
“Those who do the right thing by asking questions about the system are called anti-nationals. The public will decide,” she added.
Medha Patkar could end up in jail like Teesta Setalvad
A day after the Supreme Court upheld the clean chit given by the SIT team to Prime Minister Modi, Ahmedabad Police arrested former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer R.B. Sreekumar and detained Mumbai-based activist Teesta Setalvad. Teesta has been accused of various charges, including forgery and criminal conspiracy.
Read more: People of Dhinkia village in Odisha chased champagne activist Medha Patkar out
Like Teesta, Medha Patkar will probably soon meet her fate. Last month, ‘Social Activist’ Medha Patkar faced strong protest and public ire when she attempted to visit Dhinkia village in the Jagatsinghpur district of Odisha. Patkar wanted to meet the people opposing the proposed mega steel plant by the JSW group.
The main agenda of Medha Patkar visiting the Odisha village was to meet Debendra Swain, who was leading the protest against the proposed JSW plant and is currently lodged in Kujang jail. The protest can be seen in the light of the withdrawal of Pohang Iron and Steel Company (POSCO). Earlier, POSCO had planned to set up a 12 million-tonnes capacity steel project at the site with an investment of ₹ 52000 crores, which it later withdrew following public resistance.
Medha Patkar, the (in)famous activist, is popular for creating hurdles in every development/infrastructure initiative. Earlier as reported by TFI, the RPO Mumbai had sought the permission of the Ministry of External Affairs to file a criminal case against the activist, for not disclosing criminal cases against her in the passport application.
Patkar had applied for a passport in 2017, and many criminal cases were pending against her at that time. She chose not to disclose the case against her, which is a criminal offence. In June 2019, a journalist filed a case against Patkar, for concealing the criminal cases filed against her in Madhya Pradesh. After which, the Mumbai PRO served her with a notice, in which it was revealed that nine cases- three in Barwani, one in Alirajpur and five in Khandwa district of Madhya Pradesh- have been registered against Medha Patkar so far.
The list of crimes committed by Medha Patkar is never-ending and thus, it becomes necessary for the so-called social activist to face the consequence of what she has done. Given the developments, it seems that she will soon be behind bars.
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