Sanjiv Bhatt sent to judicial custody

Ahmedabad: Senior IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who accused Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi of complicity in the 2002 post-Godhra riots, was on Saturday sent to judicial custody after a court rejected the plea for police remand.

Police had asked for seven days’ custody of Bhatt, who was arrested on Friday, in connection with the complaint filed by constable K D Pant.

However, additional chief judicial magistrate B G Doshi rejected the plea, and sent Bhatt to judicial custody for 15 days.

Earlier in the day, Bhatt’s wife Shweta said that she feared for her husband’s life, as he had been handed over to the city crime branch.

However, city police commissioner Sudhir Sinha said that the apprehension was “unfounded”.

The police also went to search Bhatt’s house on Saturday, for the second time, but had to return when Shweta demanded to see a fresh search warrant. She also alleged that police were harassing them, for speaking the truth.

Bhatt was arrested in connection with the FIR filed by Pant for allegedly threatening him and making him sign a false affidavit with regard to a meeting called by Modi on 27 February, 2002, hours after the Godhra train carnage.

Bhatt has been charged under IPC sections 341 (causing wrongful restraint), 342 (causing wrongful confinement), 195 (giving fabricated evidence) and 189 (threat of injury to public servant).