BeyondHeadlines News Desk
New Delhi: Whistle-blower IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt will have to spend two more nights in jail as a court in Ahmedabad today deferred the hearing on his bail plea till October 7 (Friday).
Earlier, in a setback to the Gujarat government, a local court had rejected its application against arrested IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and said it would hear his bail plea.
Gujarat government had opposed the hearing on the grounds that Bhatt’s revision remand application was pending.
Session Judge V K Vyas said he was of the opinion that Bhatt’s bail application should be heard, even if the remand application was pending in another court.
In an unusual move, G N Patel, principal district judge of Ahmedabad district court, on Tuesday had informally suggested “a compromise formula” to suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt while hearing a government revision application seeking his remand.
He proposed that Bhatt go on police remand for about three-four hours, “answer all their questions” and then get released on bail in the evening.
Bhatt rejected the proposal outright, telling the court: “If you pass a judicial order on my remand, I’m ready to go to police custody for 14 days. But I will not go with the police even for four minutes by striking a compromise. I will not strike a compromise with liars and criminals.”
His fight was on principles, he added.
The suspended officer was arrested on September 30 for allegedly forcing a Gujarat Police constable, KD Pant, to sign a false affidavit.
Bhatt had claimed in the affidavit that Pant was at a meeting in which Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi gave instructions to the police to go easy on a rioting mob in 2002 following the burning of a coach of the Sabarmati Express train near Godhra station.
However, Pant later claimed that he was in Mumbai when Modi allegedly chaired the February 27, 2002 meeting.
The IPS officer, who had accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in 2002 post-Godhra riots, was arrested on September 30 following a complaint by a police constable, K D Pant, who had worked under him during the 2002 riots.
The police had raided his residence twice within 24 hours to look for ‘false affidavits’.
On October 1, Bhatt’s wife Shweta had alleged the police harassment while claiming that no one was allowed to meet him. On the same date, Ahmedabad court dismissed the police remand extension and sent Bhatt to judicial custody.
Shweta also wrote a letter to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram seeking his intervention in ensuring the safety and the liberty of her husband. She had expressed fear that more false cases might be slapped against Sanjeev Bhatt.
Earlier on Saturday, Bhatt’s wife had alleged that he was under threat. Following this, the Union Home Ministry yesterday directed the Gujarat Police to ensure the safety of Bhatt and his family.
