Ahmedabad: The security cover of
controversial IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who filed an affidavit
in the Supreme Court implicating Narendra Modi in the
post-Godhra riots, was on Tuesday restored by Gujarat government.
"Four armed constables have been deployed at my
residence from today," Bhatt said to a news agency, days after his security
had been withdrawn on DGP`s orders and he was left with a lone
armed constable.
Bhatt, a 1988 batch IPS officer, had said in an
affidavit filed in the Supreme Court recently that he had
attended the February 27, 2002, meeting called by Modi where
he asked officers to be "indifferent" to the rioters.
Bhatt had raised concern about his safety and that of
his family after filing the affidavit and had sought a
direction from the Supreme Court to the state government to
provide him adequate security cover.
ADGP (Law and Order) Sudhir Sinha said that additional
security has been provided to Bhatt through the Ahmedabad
police commissioner`s office.
"Out of the four security officials, one will be there
round the clock, while three others would be working in
shifts," Sinha said.
With security for Bhatt enhanced, now a total of five
persons would be guarding Bhatt and his family.
The additional security cover for Bhatt comes after
repeated communication between the IPS officer and the state
DGP over the past two weeks.
In his affidavit, Bhatt had also claimed that in view
of the perceived threat he had asked for security cover for
him and his family from the state government which was
disregarded.
The IPS officer in his communication to the state DGP
had contended that state government would be further
jeopardising his and the family`s safety after it withdrew the
security cover on last Friday.
He had also raised apprehensions about the probe being
carried out by special investigation team (SIT) appointed by
the Supreme Court with regard to the 2002 riots.
PTI
