All India Secular Forum (AISF) strongly condemned the harassment of IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt by the Government of Gujarat. Bhatt was not allowed to meet his family members and even his lawyer and was reportedly denied home food. He is being treated like a criminal. AISF demands that his incarceration must end immediately and he should be released on bail. Sanjiv Bhatt is not the only IPS officer to be harassed and mistreated. Anyone who has dared to reveal the facts contrary to the stand of the Gujarat Government has faced similar harassment. RB Sreekumar, former DGP, Gujarat, Rahul Sharma, Kuldeep Sharma and Rajneesh Rai, are some of the examples.
Bhatt is a key witness in the Zakia Ahsan Jafri and he has claimed that he was present in the meeting held on February 27, 2002 addressed by the Chief Minister asking the police officials to allow the Hindus to vent their anger against the Muslims on the following day. Bhatt has also filed an affidavit in the Gujarat High Court stating therein that at the relevant time he had come across very important documentary evidence regarding the role of certain highly placed State functionaries/politicians and senior police officers of the State of Gujarat in the killing of Haren Pandya. Bhatt’s wife on the other hand is fearful of his husband’s fate as he has been receiving constant threats.