Ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt moves Gujarat High Court for bail

Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is behind bars in connection with a 22-year-old narcotics case, has now moved the Gujarat High Court seeking bail in the matter. Notably, Bhatt moved the high court after a Palanpur court in Banaskantha district on December 7 rejected his bail plea in connection with the 1996 case.

He is accused of framing a Rajasthan-based lawyer Sumer Singh Rajpurohit by planting drugs in his hotel room to pressurise his relatives to vacate a property owned by a judge's sister. While the high court's registry placed the matter for hearing before the single judge bench of Justice AY Kogje, the latter recused himself from hearing the matter. Justice Kogje directed registry to place the matter before another bench.

As per case details, the state CID-crime had arrested Bhatt on September 5 in connection with this case. The arrest was made after Gujarat HC in June directed the CID to probe the case in which Rajpurohit was booked for allegedly keeping 1.15 kg opium at a Palanpur hotel room in 1996.