The Gujarat government has decided to withdraw the security cover of the controversial and disgraced former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt. Reportedly, there was only 1 police officer that was assigned for Bhatt’s security, and that was withdrawn because post the periodic review, there was no threat perception that deemed protection necessary.
The Commissioner of Ahmedabad, AK Singh confirmed that security cover given to the former officer has been withdrawn, but he declined to share the details related to the decision. It is said that the security given to the important people is reviewed every six months and decisions taken based on the review.
The 1988 batch IPS officer was removed from the prestigious service after he was found to have taken ‘unauthorised absence’ from the service. Earlier, he was suspended in 2011 for not appearing before an enquiry committee.
Bhatt “rose to fame” when he accused the Gujarat government of 2002 Godhra riots. Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the chief minister of the state when the riots took place. The former police officer is a witness in several ongoing riot cases. Bhatt is also accused of having given “certain facilities” to prisoners when he was serving as the Superintendent of Central Jail in Ahmedabad.
Sanjiv Bhatt reacted to the state government’s decision, said that this was an attempt to silence the voice of those people who speak against the government. He said, “They want to send out the message that whoever speaks against them will be intimidated and silenced.”
Bhatt also wrote a letter to the chief minister Vijay Rupani regarding the withdrawal of security. In his letter, he requested the state government not to take such decisions which would jeopardise the security of him and his family.
“The continual disregard of my genuine requests and the repeated blatant actions by the offices and agencies working under your direct control and supervision, to jeopardize my security as well as the security and safety, not only amount to wilful abdication of an obligatory duty cast upon the state, but also be tantamount to intentionally misleading and dishonouring an assurance given to the Supreme Court,” the letter said.
Bhatt was given a Y category security cover, which was gradually reduced to one personal security cover and was given a police constable to protect him.
Sanjiv Bhatt is known to be a controversial person, as he has time and again peddled lies and fake news to defame the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier, he had used a picture of a Kashmiri boy and the security officers and twisted it to suit his agenda. He is called out almost every day for his anti-India rants and bigotry on social media.
