Shweta Bhatt marks seven years of husband’s imprisonment, says rapists, lynchers walk free
New Delhi: On the seventh anniversary of former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s imprisonment, his wife Shweta Bhatt issued a sharp statement condemning what she described as his “wrongful incarceration” for speaking truth to power.
In a post on X, Shweta Bhatt wrote that her husband’s only “crime” was courage, while those accused of heinous offences roam free. “Seven years stolen from a man whose only ‘crime’ was to speak truth to power … seven years in which rapists, murderers, and lynchers walk free, while a man of conscience languishes in jail, his courage the only crime that keeps him there,” she said.
Bhatt, a former IPS officer, has been serving a life sentence in connection with a 1990 custodial death case when he was Additional Superintendent of Police in Jamnagar. He had detained over 130 people during communal riots in Jamjodhpur under TADA, one of whom, Prabhudas Vaishnani, later died after release. Though the CID initially filed an A-summary report, the court rejected it in 1995 and took cognisance of charges.
His legal troubles deepened after he deposed before the Nanavati and Mehta Commissions in 2011 on the 2002 Gujarat riots, alleging the complicity of then Chief Minister Narendra Modi. Following this, his state protection was withdrawn, and subsequent charges were pressed against him.
Despite repeated bail pleas, including a recent appeal before the Supreme Court, Bhatt remains in prison. Shweta Bhatt accused the judiciary of failing its duty, saying it had become “a handmaiden to power” instead of protecting honest voices.
“The regime survives on fear. It thrives on cowardice, greed, and silence. But must we remain silent? Must we allow them to believe that we, the people of India, are cowards, spectators, shadows without voices? The time has come to raise our voice … the time has come to reclaim the nation’s conscience,” she wrote.
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4 held for sexually assaulting woman, girl on moving bus after social media alert in UP's Agra
Agra (UP) (PTI): Four people were arrested, after a prompt response by police following a social media alert, for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman and a girl inside a moving bus here, officials said on Tuesday.
According to an official police statement, at 12:27 am on April 27, information was received on the social media platform X about an incident of sexual assault on a bus travelling from Kanpur to Ahmedabad, which was approaching Namner crossing in Agra.
Acting under the direction of Police Commissioner Deepak Kumar, the Agra Police social media team immediately alerted the Rakabganj police station within minutes and coordinated with the victims to confirm the incident and obtain the exact location, it stated.
Police teams launched intensive checking at Namner crossing and intercepted the bus as it reached the spot. The four accused involved in the incident were apprehended on the spot, and legal action was initiated against them, the statement said.
The police said the swift response and coordination between the social media team and field units ensured timely action, bringing relief to the victims and other passengers, who expressed gratitude towards the police, it added.
