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Mumbai:
Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP), a local NGO fighting the
Gujarat riot and other related cases since 2002, has in a
statement released to the press condemned the arrest of suspended
IPS officer Sanjive Bhatt. Bhatt was arrested by the Gujarat
Police Friday.
The statement released by the
Citizens for Justice and Peace said, "CJP strongly condemns the
vindictive action of the Gujarat government in arresting Sanjeev
Bhatt, senior IPS officer in an action that is nothing short of an
attempt to intimidate an important witness in the Zakia Ahsan
Jafri and CJP criminal complaint against chief minister Narendra
Modi and 61 others."
Senior Indian Police Service officer Sanjiv Bhatt, in the eye of
storm after he filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court implicating
Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi in the 2002 communal riots,
was arrested Friday for allegedly threatening a policeman and
making him sign a false affidavit. Bhatt was
arrested in connection with an FIR filed in June for allegedly
threatening a police constable and making him sign a false
affidavit.
"This action of the Gujarat police
under the direct instructions of the state’s Home Minister—Narendra
Modi amounts to tampering with evidence and direct intimidation of
a key witness. It is also a cheap attempt to slur his character
and standing", the statement added.
Stating that through his affidavit before the Hon’ble Supreme
Court dated April 2011 Bhatt had testified to criminal and
un-Constitutional instructions being issued by Modi at a late
night meeting of 27.2.2002 the day of the Godhra incident, the
statement said, "In his statements before the SC-appointed Special
Investigation Team (SIT) he also gave documentary data about
Modi’s abdication of responsibility on 28.2.2002 the day attacks
on Gulberg Society and Naroda Patia in Ahmedabad were in full
swing."
"Finally", the CJP statement said,
"In an affidavit filed before the High Court recently Shri Bhatt
had even mentioned that both Modi and Amit Shah, then MOS Home had
tried to intimidate and pressurise him into not giving facts and
evidence in the possession of the State Intelligence Bureau
related to the assassination of former MOS Revenue Haren
Pandya. The CBI investigation into the Pandya assassination has
been recently severely criticised by the Gujarat High Court."
Recalling that Bhatt had challenged this FIR for which he was
arrested through Writ Petition 135/2011 in the Supreme Court and
hence the SC had issued notice to the Gujarat government on
29.7.2011, the CJP statement said, "This hasty and vindictive,
even desperate action of the Gujarat police directly while the
matter is under consideration of the Supreme Court raises serious
issues of contempt of the highest court, due process and most
importantly intimidating a witness critical to a trial to ensure
public justice."
"The alleged offences for which
Bhatt was arresred are sections 183,189, 193, 195, 341 of the IPC.
With our matter now awaiting being charge sheeting before a
Gujarat Magistrate’s Court the arrest of Bhatt is also a clear
attempt by the state of Gujarat to warn us all collectively and
individually of repercussions if we struggle for justice. It is a
pathetic subversion of the Constitution and the Rule of Law", it
said.
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