India’s top court grants bail to activist in 2002 riots case

By SHEIKH SAALIQ
Associated Press

NEW DELHI (AP) — India’s Supreme Court has granted bail to a prominent human rights activist who has spearheaded a campaign to hold officials responsible for deadly 2002 anti-Muslim riots in western Gujarat state. Teesta Setalvad was granted bail on Friday, more than two months after she was detained on allegations of fabricating evidence against officials, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Modi was the state’s top elected official at the time of the riots. Setalvad, a vocal Modi critic, has long campaigned for justice for victims of the riots, in which more than 1,000 people were killed. She has sought to hold Modi responsible for the riots, even though the Supreme Court has multiple times said it found no evidence to prosecute him.