Sanjiv Bhatt, a prominent critic of the Narendra Modi government, has been behind bars in connection with a 22-year-old narcotics case.
The former IPS officer had moved the Gujarat High Court in December 2018, seeking bail in the matter after a Palanpur court in Banaskantha district on December 7 rejected his bail plea in connection with the 1996 case.
Bhatt, claims that he was framed for filing an affidavit in the Supreme Court of India against then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi’s alleged role in the 2002 Gujarat riots.
In the affidavit, Bhatt had claimed to have attended a meeting, during which Modi had allegedly asked top police officials to let Hindus vent out their anger against the Muslims.
Bhatt wife on her husband’s page on January 10, Shweta Bhatt wrote, “On the 7th of January 2019, my son and I saw death from very close quarters.
A massive dumper appearing from behind us, hit our car from the driver’s side on the busy roads of IIM, instantly crushing the vehicle and flinging it across the street over the divider of the road.” She added that “It is only a miracle that we survived with nothing but a few cuts, sprains and bruises.”
Grimmer than this near-death experience, however, is Shweta Bhatt’s allegation about the nature of the “accident” and its timing.
She wrote, “The accident happened just a day before the scheduled hearing in the Gujarat High Court. Interestingly, the dumper hit our car not from behind, but from sideways on the drivers’ side.
Our car whirled and was dragged by the dumper, which instead of stopping continued to accelerate. Moreover, there was no number plate on the dumper nor were any vehicle registration or identification papers available.”
Shweta Bhatt, of course, claims that she can’t be intimidated “If the purpose of this incident was to scare us or break Sanjiv Bhatt, then all I’d like to say is that we may be shaken, but not scared. Sanjiv Bhatt’s family will continue being his strength, not his weakness.”
She added that the bail hearing for Sanjiv Bhatt, after much delay, has now been scheduled for 3:30 pm on January 11 in the Gujarat High Court.
Earlier Shweta Bhatt, wife of ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, on described in a Facebook post how the couple has been allegedly harassed and victimised by the Modi government.
She also wrote that even though the government was aware that there were threats to Sanjiv Bhatt’s life as he is a witness in the 2002 Gujarat riots case, their security cover was removed.
A few days later, Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation demolished parts of their house on “absolutely illegal and flimsy grounds.”
