Gandhinagar: Senior Indian Police Service officer Sanjav 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.

Deputy Inspector General of Gujarat Police Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested in connection with an FIR filed in June for allegedly threatening a police constable and making him sign a false affidavit.

On June 24, K.D. Pant, a constable working with Meghaninagar police station, lodged an FIR at Ghatlodiya police station in Ahmedabad against IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt.

He alleged that Bhatt threatened him and forced him to sign a false affidavit regarding a meeting called by Narendra Modi on Feb 27, 2002. That affidavit supported Bhatt's claim that he was present at the meeting of the chief minister where Modi allegedly asked police officers to go slow during the 2002 riots.

The Ghatlodiya police had registered an FIR against Bhatt for threatening a public servant, fabricating false evidence, wrongful confinement, and initiated investigations agaist him.

The arrest comes within 48 hours of Bhatt filing an additional affidavit in the Gujarat High Court implicating the chief minister and the then minister of state for home Amit Shah in connection with a report pertaining to the murder of Haren Pandya, another former minister of state for home and BJP leader.

Bhatt has stated in his affidavit before the Supreme Court that he was present at the meeting the Gujarat chief minister called on Feb 27, 2002, where his driver constable Pant was also with him.

Pant subsequently went back on his earlier stand and said in his FIR that on June 16 he was threatened by Bhatt and forced to sign an affidavit to the effect that he had accompanied him to the meeting at the chief minister's residence.

Pant stated in the FIR that he had protested, pointing out that he had already stated before the Special Investigation Team on April 5 this year that he was on leave in February 2002 when the communal riots broke out in the state.

Bhatt was served a charge sheet Sep 18 by the Gujarat home department for his alleged unauthorised absence from duty for the last ten months.
 

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Picture of the Day

Girl students of a local school displaying the post cards posted to the AMU VC appealing him to speed up the process for the establishment of AMU centre in Malegaon

(Photo: ummid.com)