TCN News
Jamnagar Sessions Court sentenced Sanjiv Bhat, ex- IPS officer, to life time imprisonment on Thursday, 20th June, 2019, in a case of custodial torture leading to death that took place nearly 30 years ago. Along with him another police constable, Pravinsinh Zala, retired now, has also been sentenced to life; while five other policemen have been given a two-year term imprisonment.
However, his wife Swetha Sanjiv Bhat has released a press statement and also posted on her social media accounts that Sanjiv Bhat, who has been an upright official, has been wrongly convicted and that he was always in danger because of his honesty and boldness. Many activists and organsiations also feel that this sentence is a political vendetta and that Bhat has been punished for talking against the ruling party chiefs and the conspiracies that led to the genocide in 2002 in Gujrat.
The minute details of the 30 year old case, as revealed by Swetha Bhat are:
When communal violence broke out in October, 1990, in Jamnagar following the stoppage of L.K. Advani’s Rath Yatra in Bihar and his subsequent arrest, Sanjiv Bhat had just been posted as ASP Jamnagar Rural Division. But had to take additional charge of the entire Jamnagar city ( all three divisions) as Pravin Gondia IPS went on leave.
A call for Bharat Bandh on 30th October 1990 was given by Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP). Large scale communal violence was expected across the country during the Bandh and all communally sensitive states of India were put on high alert.
Following the break-out of communal violence on the 30th in Jamnagar, the Collector, District Magistrate, Mamlatdar and the Executive Magistrate of Jamjodhpur announced for immediate imposition of curfew in the entire town. While the implementation of curfew was yet to begin, the entire town was in the grip of violent miscreants who were spreading terror by indulging in targeted violence including loot and arson against individuals, shops, establishments and properties belonging to the minority Muslim community of Jamjodhpur.
After quelling the riotous mobs and ensuring strict enforcement of curfew to maintain peace, law and order, Sanjiv Bhat went to the Jamjodhpur police station at around 1.30 pm where 133 persons were already arrested by the local police led by PSI Jamjodhour between 9:30 am and 12:15 pm from 15 separate incidents of mass communal violence and arson across the city under the single offence of rioting, endangering life and personal safety , house breaking, arson and so on. (C.R. No. 96/90 registered under sections 147, 148, 336, 337, 395, 436, 151, 327, 452, 454, 455 of the IPC, Section 3-6 of the TADA Act and Section 135(1) of the Bombay Police Act.)
The deceased Prabhudas Madhavji Vaishnani, for whose death Bhat has been convicted, was one of the arrested by the PSI – team comprising K.N. Patel, CPI, Bhanvad, PSI Thakor and Mahashankar Joshi. Sanjiv Bhat was not present when the arrests were made, nor was he involved in the interrogation of the arrested 133 persons, claims Swetha Bhat in her press release.
However the brother of the deceased Amrutlal Madjavji Vaishnani, an active member of the VHP/BJP filed a complaint accusing Sanjiv Bhat of torturing the arrested by making them do sit-ups, beating them rifle butts and not even giving them water or medical help.
But none of the 133 rioters when presented before the magistrate on 31st October, complain that they had been tortured. The magistrate ordered the arrested to remain in judicial custody for nine days till 8th November after which they were released on bail. And even after being released none of the arrested including Prabhudas Vaishnani, complain of torture or any grievance.
After some days, Prabhudas fell ill and was hospitalized in Rajkot after which he died on 18th November, 1990. And during his days in hospital also, Prabhudas did not complain of any tortuous treatment meted out to him during his custody.
The hospital records as well as the forensic postmortem records of Prabhudas Madhavji Vaishnani have noted that there were no internal or external indications of any injury/torture or any grievance. But his brother, however, claimed that Prabhudas died due to the injuries he suffered while in custody.
Swetha Bhat says, the complaint filed against her husband, Sanjiv Bhatt is a classic case of political vindictiveness, as the then Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Chimanbhai Patel was to face a vote of confidence in the Gujarat Assembly on 1st November 1990 and was very keen to ensure the support of Patel MLAs from the BJP as well as the INC.
And a large number of the 133 arrested were from the Patel community and Sanjiv Bhatt’s refusal to remove the sections of TADA from an offence they were charged under, was seen as a personal affront to the then Home Minister Narhari Amin and the then Chief Minister Chimanbhai Patel, both of whom happened to belong to the Patel community.
Sanjiv Bhatt’s superiors in the Police Department as well as the Home department were fully aware that Bhatt was being falsely victimized for having performed his duty with utmost sincerity and diligence. Hence the Home department Government of Gujarat decided to accord Sanjiv Bhatt Legal Assistance. The investigation conducted by CID declared that there was no evidence found against Sanjiv Bhatt, and the state government refused to give sanction to prosecute.
But the protection was withdrawn in 2011 when Bhat deposed as the commission-witness to the commission headed by Justice Nanavati and Justice Mehta set up to inquire into the riots of 2002. Bhatt truthfully deposed regarding the role of the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, other ministers and high-ranking officials in the 2002 riots of Gujarat wherein he said he was present at the meeting in which the then CM Narendar Modi had instructed the IPS officers to allow Hindus to vent their anger against the Muslims after the Godhra train carnage. Bhat also alleged that in the same meeting it was also decided to take the bodies of the piligrims who had died in the train carnage be taken to Ahmadabad before crimination. And that some police officials feared incitement of communal violence if this was carried out.
But this advice was not heeded and the charred bodies of the Kar sevaks were taken around wherein inciting speeches were delivered increasing the hatred towards Muslims that was soon followed by the genocide of more than 2000 Muslims.
Following Shri Bhatt’s deposition, there was an immediate withdrawal of the Revision Application filed by the State of Gujarat on the very same evening, and instructions were given the very next day to start the immediate prosecution of Shri Sanjiv Bhatt and other officers who were being duly protected by the Government of Gujarat till that date.
The Gujrat Government that had earlier appealed to the court to drop charges against Bhat about the custodial death withdrew its application when Bhat filed the affidavit against Modi.
And in 2012 the case was taken up again and the complainant Amrutlal who had been silent from 1990 to 2012 suddenly became vigilant and engaged senior lawyers to take on the case.
Bhat’s plea to examine more witnesses was turned down. There were 300 witnessed and only 32 were examined. Also Bhat requested for the examination of Forensic Medicine Expert Dr. Reddy as key defence witness.
But the court, fully aware that Dr. Reddy resided in Hyderabad, ordered the witness to be produced on the same day by afternoon. Calling these requests as tactics to delay the trial, the court completed the trial in the absence of Sanjiv Bhat’s lawyers, convicted him under section 302 and sentenced him to life imprisonment.
Swetha Bhat has, in her press release, appealed to the people saying, ‘Your words of support are comforting and encouraging, but words without action will amount to nothing. your support will mean nothing if you let such travesty of justice happen to a man who has done nothing but serve his country and his people diligently.’
And she has also questioned the IPS association on their silence and indifference.
Says, Swetha Bhat in her press statement, “It is strange that how a death which occurred after 18 days of being out of custody; without any indications of internal or external trauma or injury, a death which was examined and reported by the forensic medicine experts to have no indication of torture or grievance, was declared to be a Homicidal death.
There cannot be a more blatant example of vindictive persecution of totally innocent officers including Sanjiv Bhatt and his staff who had performed their duties in an outstanding and exemplary manner during the most difficult phase of the communal rioting.”
Many other individuals and political and non political organizations say that this is nothing but a well planned vindictive act on the part of the ruling party and its allies considering the fact that the policemen who were investigating the 2002 killings, the fake encounter killings and government’s involvement in the genocide have all been targeted.
In India there are hundreds of custodial deaths but hardly any conviction as the police department enjoys impunity. The custodial deaths are always swept under the carpet. And in such a scenario the conviction of Sanjiv Bhat comes as a surprise and that too in a 30 year old case.
Mohammed Ali Jinnah of Popular Front India in his press statement has “cautioned that the silence over such persecution will only contribute to the dictatorial tendencies already strengthening in the country. He appealed to the civil society and human rights activists to be alert and stand by struggle of Sanjiv Bhat for justice.”