‘Cops want papers in Sanjiv Bhatt’s possession’

Why is the Ahmedabad police so desperately demanding access to arrested IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt’s bank lockers or what were they looking for when they carried out searches at his house and that of his mother? Sources believe that Bhatt is in possession of several crucial documents which could put many officials and politicians in trouble if they became public.

The police have sought the court’s permission to check Bhatt’s bank lockers. The court is yet to decide on their petition but the urgency shown by the police has raised questions about their intention. “The suggestion that the Gujarat police should be allowed to search Bhatt’s lockers is shocking and ludicrous as it is tantamount to allowing the accused access to evidence using a key given by a witness,” said Teests Setalvad, convenor of Citizens for Justice and Peace (CJP).

Bhatt is a crucial witness in several cases in which senior functionaries of the Gujarat government are accused of conspiring to commit mass crimes, destroying evidence and subverting the course of justice.

Former DGP RB Sreekumar said that the police may be after the documents which Bhatt is believed to have in his possession and which could nail the accused in the post-Godhra riots. “It is very easy to destroy such documents once the police lay their hands on them,” he said.