Protect Sanjiv R. Bhatt
By Concerned Citizens
29 April, 2011
Countercurrents.org
A letter to home minister P. Chidambaram on protection of Sanjiv R. Bhatt
Shri P. Chidambaram
Hon’ble Union Home Minister
Government of India
April 29, 2011
Subject: Request for providing adequate and effective security to Shri Sanjiv R. Bhatt
(IPS 1998), Principal SRPF Training College, Junagadh
Dear Mr. Chidambaram,
We are deeply perturbed by the media reports (pasted at the end of this letter) : Gujarat Govt withdraws security cover of IPS officer who deposed against Modi, Express news service, Fri Apr 29 2011, 00:36 hrs.
Sanjiv Bhatt IPS, DIG SRPF Training College, Junagadh, had filed an Affidavit relating to SIT investigation on the complaint by Smt. Ahsan Jafri against Shri Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat, senior politicians and bureaucrats in the Supreme Court of India.
Sanjiv Bhatt’s Affidavit filed in Supreme Court contains important evidence against Narendra Modi. Earlier, the late Haren Pandya, the former State Minister, who submitted similar information to the Citizens Tribunal, headed by Justice V.R. Krishna Iyer, had been assassinated in suspicious circumstances.
In the background of these circumstances and the prevailing conditions in Gujarat of ‘No Tolerance to any Dissent’ today’s media reports about the withdrawal of security from Sanjiv Bhatt comes as a rude shock and is very disturbing.
There is a long list of serving officers who have been penalized by the state government for stopping the riots in 2002 in the areas under their jurisdiction and they continue to be harassed.
We as concerned citizens, individuals, activists, political workers, leaders feel extremely perturbed by this recent development.
We are writing to urge you to ensure that adequate and effective security cover be provided to Sanjiv Bhatt and his family urgently.
He is entitled to protection as per the witness protection rules ordered by the Honorable Supreme Court for the witnesses of the communal riot cases, being investigated by the SIT constituted by the Supreme Court.
Yours Sincerely
Released by Shabnam Hashmi on behalf of
1. Aamir Edresy, Association of Professional Muslims, Mumbai
2. Abdul Khaliq, Awadh Public Charitable Public Trust, Delhi
3. Abu Saleh Sharief, economist, Bangalore
4. Aditi Mangaldas, Dancer, Delhi
5. Admiral Ramdas, peace activist, former naval chief, Alibag, Maharashtra
6. Amitabh Behar, social activist, Delhi
7. Annie Raja, President, National Federation of Indian Women, Delhi
8. Anuradha Chenoy, School of International Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University
9. Biju Mohan, filmmaker, Barabanki, UP
10. D Raja, MP, leader, Communist Party of India, Delhi
11. Danish Ahmed, National Secretary, Janata Dal (Secular)
12. Dhirendra Panda, social activist, Orissa
13. Dr Harshvardhan Hegde, orthopedic surgeon, Delhi
14. Dr Jaya Mehta, Economist, Sandarbh, Indore
15. Dr. Ram Puniyani, writer and activist, Mumbai
16. Farukh Shaikh, film actor, producer, Mumbai
17. Father Cedric Prakash, Human Rights activist and Director Prashant, Ahmedabad
18. Gagan Sethi, social activist, Centre for Social Justice, Ahmedabad
19. Githa Hariharan, writer, novelist, Delhi
20. Hanif Lakdawala, social activist, Director Sanchetna, Gujarat
21. Harsh Dobhal, Human Rights Law Network, Delhi
22. Harsh Mander, activist, writer, member NAC
23. Indu Kumar Jani, writer, journalist, Ahmedabad
24. Jai Sen, CACIM , Delhi
25. Kamla Mitra Chenoy, Professor, JNU
26. Kavita Srivastava, General Secretary, PUCL, Rajasthan
27. Kedar Mishra, poet, journalist, Orissa
28. Lalita Ramdas, peace activist, Alibag
29. Madhumita Ray, social activist, Orissa
30. Mahesh Bhatt, filmmaker, Mumbai
31. Manas Ranjan, social activist, Orissa
32. Mohd Azam Khan, activist, Hyderabad
33. Mushirul Hasan, Historian, Delhi
34. Naasiruddin Haider Khan, Journalist, Delhi
35. Nandita Das, actress, Mumbai
36. Nasiruddin Shah, Actor, Mumbai
37. Paul Divakar, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, Delhi
38. Prasad Chako, social activist, National Campaign for Dalit Human Rights, Ahmedabad
39. Prashant Paikray, social activist, Orissa
40. Prof KN Panikkar, Historian, Kerala
41. Prof Ramesh Dixit, Lucknow University, Lucknow
42. Prof Rooprekha Verma, Former Vice Chancellor, Delhi University
43. Ram Vilas Paswan, President, Lok Jan Shakti Party
44. S Irfan Habib, Historian, Delhi
45. Saba Dewan, filmmaker, Delhi
46. Saeed Mirza, film director, writer, Mumbai, Goa
47. Sampad Mohapatra, journalist, Orissa
48. Sania Hashmi, filmmaker, Delhi
49. Seema Duhan, social activist, Orissa
50. Seema Mustafa, journalist, Delhi
51. Shabnam Hashmi, social activist, Anhad, Delhi
52. Sharmila Tagore, actress, Mumbai, Delhi
53. Sheba George, social activist, Director, Sahrwaru, Ahmedabad
54. Shubha Mudgal, artists, singer, Mumbai
55. Sohail Hashmi, filmmaker, writer, Delhi
56. Sonia Jabbar, filmmaker, Delhi
57. Subhash Gatade, columnist, writer, Delhi
58. Sukumar Muralidharan, Journalist, Delhi
59. T Haridas, Jansanskriti, Delhi
60. Utkarsh Sinha, activist, INSAF, Lucknow
61. Urvashi Butalia, writer, activist, Delhi
62. Uttam Parmar, social activist, Surat
63. Vineet Tiwari, Progressive Writers ‘Association, Sandarbh, Indore
64. Vrinda Grover, advocate, Supreme Court
65. Zafar Agha, Editor, Jadeed Mail, Delhi
66. Zakia Soman, social activist, Bhartiya Muslim Mahila Andolan, Gujarat
MEDIA REPORT
Gujarat govt withdraws security cover of IPS officer
who deposed against Modi
Express news service
Posted: Fri Apr 29 2011, 00:36 hrs
Days after he submitted an affidavit in the Supreme Court to say Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi wanted “Muslims taught a lesson” for “the burning of kar sevaks at Godhra” in 2002, IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s security detail was withdrawn on the orders of the state Director General of Police. Instead of four guards, he will now have a lone policeman guarding him.
“There is no way I am going to allow this. My family needs to be protected,” Bhatt told The Indian Express, saying he was drafting a reply to the DGP.
Bhatt had been recommended Y-category security — it comprises a security team of 11, including seven armed guards outside the house — after police intelligence underlined the threat he faced in view of his disclosures to the Special Investigation Team probing the riots cases.
Since no decision had been taken on providing him Y-category cover, he had made his own security arrangement at his residence, using four men drawn from the SRP Training College where he is currently posted as Principal.
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