Gujarat top cop Sanjeev Bhatt sent to judicial custody

Ahmedabad: A day after he was arrested, a court in Ahmedabad today sent suspended IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt to judicial custody. Mr Bhatt will now be lodged in Sabarmati Jail till his bail hearing comes up on Monday.

The senior cop, viewed by many as a whistleblower, has accused Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the riots that ravaged the state in 2002. He was arrested on Friday night in Gandhinagar following a complaint of abducting and forcefully recording the statement of a constable. The statement, in question, reportedly backs Mr Bhatt's allegations against the Chief Minister.

The court order came after it rejected the police's request for a seven-custody of the top cop. This could prove to be a huge setback for the Modi government considering the police had, earlier in the day, pressed a fresh charge against Mr Bhatt under Section 194 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for fabricating evidence in connection with the constable's statement. The charge carries a maximum punishment of life imprisonment.

Mr Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court this year alleging that Mr Modi had, in a meeting on February 27, 2002, asked officials not to act against rioters during the riots that year. He had added that his allegations could be backed up by head constable K. D. Pant who was also part of those meetings. But Mr Pant has alleged that Mr Bhatt forced him to back his allegations on record against Narendra Modi. He further alleged that Mr Bhatt had threatened him and made him sign a false affidavit with regard to the meeting. In fact, it is on Mr Pant's complaint that the IPS officer was arrested.

"Police is working as per evidence...Pant has said that Bhatt pressurised him to file the affidavit", Sudhir Sinha, Police Commissioner, Ahmedabad said.

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But, Mr Bhatt told the court that constable Pant had, during this year, constantly changed his statement pertaining to the events that transpired on February 27, 2002. In April this year, Mr Pant told the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) that he couldn't recall the events that occurred on February 27, 2002, the day Mr Modi allegedly held the meeting. In mid-June, he changed his version, telling the Supreme Court-appointed amicus curiae Raju Ramachandran that he accompanied Mr Bhatt to the Chief Minister's residence. Days later, he went back on his statement, saying he couldn't recall anything.  After these flip-flops, constable Pant, on July 7, finally told the SIT that his relatives reminded him that he went to Mumbai for some work at the French Embassy on the said controversial day. He also, all of a sudden, could even recollect the number of the car and the name of the driver who took him to Mumbai.

Meanwhile, Mr Bhatt's wife has expressed fears about his safety. Speaking to NDTV today, Shweta Bhatt said that their family was not being allowed to meet the controversial cop. "The Crime Branch is infamous for its encounters...I am worried because of these reasons", she said. (Watch)

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She also alleged that the police searched their residence twice without her permission and also threatened them.

Mr Bhatt was suspended last month for failing to report to work, and for using a state-given car even though he was not on duty. The Congress, however, alleges the Modi government is persecuting the police officer for taking on the Chief Minister.

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Mr Bhatt has, so far, refused to comment on the allegations. But his lawyer, I H Sayyed, said his arrest reflected the Modi government's "political vendetta." He added that there was no evidence against his client in the case filed by constable Pant.