Gujarat court acquits ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in custodial torture case
Porbandar (PTI): A court in Gujarat's Porbandar has acquitted former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt in a 1997 custodial torture case, citing that the prosecution could not "prove the case beyond reasonable doubt".
Additional chief judicial magistrate Mukesh Pandya on Saturday acquitted Bhatt, the then superintendent of police (SP) of Porbandar, in a case registered against him under IPC sections pertaining to causing grievous hurt to obtain confession and other provisions by giving him the benefit of the doubt due to lack of evidence.
Bhatt was earlier sentenced to life imprisonment in a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar and 20 years in jail in a 1996 case relating to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer in Palanpur. He is currently lodged in the Rajkot Central Jail.
The court held that the prosecution could not "prove the case beyond reasonable doubt" that the complainant was forced to confess to the crime and made to surrender by voluntarily causing pain using dangerous weapons and threats.
It also noted that the sanction required to prosecute the accused, who was then a public servant discharging his duty, had not been obtained in the case.
Bhatt and constable Vajubhai Chau, against whom the case was abated after his death, were charged under sections 330 (causing hurt to extort confession) and 324 (causing hurt with dangerous weapons) of the Indian Penal Code on the complaint by one Naran Jadav for causing him physical and mental torture in police custody to extract confession in a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Arms Act case.
A first information report was filed against Bhatt and Chau in a Porbandar city B-division police station on April 15, 2013, following the court's direction on Jadav's complaint before a magistrate court on July 6, 1997.
Jadav was one of the 22 accused in the 1994 arms landing case.
According to the prosecution, a team of Porbandar police had taken Jadav to Bhatt's residence in Porbandar on July 5, 1997, from the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad on a transfer warrant.
Jadav was given electric shocks on different parts of his body, including his private parts. His son was also given electric shocks.
The complainant later informed the court of the judicial magistrate about the torture, following which an inquiry was ordered. Based on the evidence, the court registered a case on December 31, 1998, and issued a summons to Bhatt and Chau.
On April 15, 2013, the court ordered an FIR against Bhatt and Chau.
Bhatt is undergoing life imprisonment in a 1990 Jamnagar custodial death case.
In March 2024, the former IPS officer was also sentenced to 20 years imprisonment by a court at Palanpur in Banaskantha district in a 1996 case related to planting drugs to frame a Rajasthan-based lawyer.
He is also an accused in a case of alleged fabrication of evidence in connection with the 2002 Gujarat riots cases along with activist Teesta Setalvad and former Gujarat director general of police R B Sreekumar.
Bhatt, who was removed from police service by the Gujarat government over unauthorised absence, moved the Supreme Court challenging the Gujarat High Court's January 9, 2024 order dismissing his appeal.
The high court had upheld the conviction of Bhatt and co-accused Pravinsinh Zala under sections 302 (murder), 323 (voluntarily causing hurt) and 506 (criminal intimidation) of the IPC for murder by the sessions court in Jamnagar on June 20, 2019.
Bhatt, as the then additional SP, had detained around 150 people on October 30, 1990, following a communal riot in Jamjodhpur town following a 'bandh' call against the halting of BJP leader L K Advani's 'rath yatra' for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya.
One of the detained persons, Prabhudas Vaishnani, died in hospital after his release.
Bhatt had hit the headlines when he filed an affidavit in the apex court alleging then chief minister Narendra Modi's role in the 2002 Gujarat riots. A special investigation team debunked these allegations.
He was suspended from service in 2011 and sacked by the Ministry of Home Affairs in August 2015 for "unauthorised absence".
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
