Jailed IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt begins to pen prison diary, first entry on CAA protests

Former Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who is serving life sentence for a 1990 custodial death case, has began maintaining a prison diary.

The first diary entry of Bhatt, who was critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's alleged role in the Gujarat riots in 2002, was on the protests against Citizenship Amendment Act.

His wife Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt, who has been maintaining a Facebook account in his name, announced this with a detailed post. She said she and her daughter Aakashi had met Sanjiv Bhatt on December 31 and added that he has started maintaining a diary in which “he writes his thoughts about the current ongoings in India, as he used to on his social media on a regular basis, before he was taken away from his home and family 16 months ago.”

The first entry read: "The Anti-CAA/NRC protests, by their heterogeneity, are a dagger in the heart of the divisive politics of hate and fear."

The post from Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt read:

Over the past few weeks, India has awakened. It has awakened to the fact, that we cannot be divided or polarised on the basis of our religions or what clothes we wear. It has awakened to the fact that we will not digest the half truths and lies that are regularly fed to us, by the thugs in power. India has awakened to it it’s own conscience.

My daughter Aakashi and I, last met Sanjiv on 31st of December 2019, as we had a court date in Palanpur. Sanjiv has started maintaining a diary in which he writes his thoughts about the current ongoings in India, as he used to on his social media on a regular basis, before he was taken away from his home and family 16 months ago. From now on, we will be regularly posting quotes and excerpts from his diary.

Sanjiv Bhatt is serving the prison term in connection with a case of custodial death in 1990 after one of the 50 people arrested for rioting died after being released from prison. Jamjodhpur town resident Prabhudas Vaishnani died in hospital after his release, and his family members had claimed that he was tortured by Bhatt and other officers. Bhatt and six other police officials were accused of torturing Vaishnani in detention. He was posted as an additional superintendent of police in Jamnagar district then.

Bhatt had several run-ins with the BJP government in Gujarat over the 2002 post-Godhra riots. He had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court against the alleged role of the then Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi in the riots. Bhatt had claimed he was present in a meeting held at the CMs office on February 27, 2002, where he heard Modi directing the police and state administration to refrain from taking any strict action and permit members of the majority community to express anger against the minority community.

(With PTI inputs)