The Government of Gujarat on November 2 told the Nanavati-Mehta Commission that of 47 documents sought by suspended IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt in connection with the 2002 communal riots of Gujarat, nine intelligence documents have been destroyed in “routine course.” Sanjiv Bhatt had appealed to the High Court to examine some serious documents and police reports regarding the riots. He has been fighting to get access to 47 intelligence and police documents from the State Government to file a detailed affidavit on the riots before the commission and the role played by different government functionaries during that period.
This is in contrast to the recent statement by the Advocate General on behalf of the Government before the High Court that the documents were not destroyed and would be provided to the commission, if not given so far. The commission has asked the Government to put it on affidavit that the said documents have been destroyed.