‘Tomorrow it could be you’: Sanjiv Bhatt’s wife warns every Indian citizen against ruthless regime

coastaldigest.com web desk
October 13, 2018

Shweta Bhatt, the wife former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhat, who has been facing the wrath of the government after he exposed the then state government’s involvement in 2002 Gujarat carnage, has written an open letter warning every Indian citizen against the brutality of the government.

In 2011, Sanjiv Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court accusing Narendra Modi of being complicit in the 2002 Gujarat carnage. Bhatt was removed from the police service in 2015 after he refused to stop raising voice against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was the chief minister of Gujarat during the carnage.

On September 5 the Gujarat Police detained former police officer Sanjiv Bhatt in Ahmedabad for questioning in a 20-year-old criminal case relating to falsely framing a lawyer. He continues to remain in custody since then.

Bhatt’s wife in her letter uploaded on social media platforms has called upon every citizen of India, irrespective of his or her political or ideological inclination, to come out openly and question the regime:

Here’s the full text of Shweta Sanjiv Bhatt’s letter:

Since the past 4 months, the government has left no stone unturned in trying to subdue, victimise and harass our family.

1. In July, our security cover was removed, despite the government being fully aware of the threats on my husband’s life, as one of the main witnesses of the 2002 riots case.

2. A couple of days later, the AMC suddenly demolished parts of our house, in which we had lived for the past 23 years - an initiative based on absolutely illegal and flimsy grounds. They demolished the kitchen, the washrooms and parts of the bedrooms, while making sure to do irreparable damage to the structural integrity of the entire house.

3. On the 5th of September, the CID Crime branch entered our house ‪at 8am, on the grounds of picking up my husband for recording his “statement”. It is worth mentioning that the CID Crime Branch officers entered our bedroom while I was sleeping there, in full knowledge, shamelessly invading my privacy, despite Sanjiv having already met with them and changing to leave with them.

The events that unfolded are the following.

5th September:

Sanjiv was detained and arrested on the 5th of September 2018 in a 22-year-old case. The doorbell rang ‪at around 8 am. Led by the two officers, an entire unit of policemen barged into our house, covering it inside and out, some even trying to enter our bedroom until they were stopped by my son.

6th September:

On 6th September 2018, the CID/ (Gujarat) State Government presented Sanjiv in the Palanpur court in a 22-year-old case and asked for a remand of 14 days.

Fortunately, India’s democracy is grounded in the rule of law, and there are still judges standing by this founding but fading principle. Logically and courageously, the court refused to grant remand, observing that “there is no justifiable ground to grant the police remand at this stage”.

Unfortunately, the magistrate’s strict application of the law was labelled as an “act of insubordination” (to whom?), and her decision appealed.

7th September:

As was expected, the state challenged the Magistrate court’s order, without wasting a single day.

10th September:

The State’s appeal for Sanjiv’s remand was heard by the Gujarat High court ‪at 2:30 pm. Following the dismissal of their application for custody in the sessions court, the state frantically reiterated at length their previously cited argument, without having anything substantial to add.

The matter was partially heard and got adjourned until 2:30 pm on the 11th of September.

11th September:

The State’s appeal for remand, which had been dismissed by the sessions court, was granted by the High Court of Gujarat. The latter passed an order granting 10 days remand of Sanjiv to the state police.

18th of September:

We moved the Supreme Court challenging the remand order granted by the High Court of Gujarat; the hearing was scheduled for the 24th of September.

24th September:

The Supreme Court moved the hearing of the appeal to the 4th of October. Incidentally, by this time the remand period would already be over. Sanjiv was moved from police custody to judicial custody on the 21st.

4th October:

The Supreme Court, observing that the remand period was already over, directed the lawyers to “move the appropriate court” for the bail application.

10th October:

The bail application filed in the sessions court was heard by the judge. The state, in an attempt to further delay the process, requested for more time to prepare an affidavit challenging our bail application and was subsequently granted time ‪till the 16th of October.

It has now almost been a month since Sanjiv’s remand period elapsed, however, Sanjiv still remains in custody.

The above events, clearly show how scared the government is of Sanjiv Bhatt, and to what extent they would go to try to intimidate him and his family. We live in a country where democracy and judiciary should be celebrated, instead of being subverted and used for personal benefits and vendettas. As an Indian I feel deeply ashamed of seeing the current sorry state of affairs in the country and the way this government is punishing and hurting whistleblowers everywhere. This needs to come to an end, we need to bring this to an end.

From the 5th of September till the 12th of October, it’s been 37 days since Sanjiv was taken away from home, from his family, in a 22-year-old case. Yet today we are still struggling for bail. The next hearing is on the 16th of October, and we really hope that justice does prevail on that day.

After reading all of the above, I am sure most of you have a lot of questions in mind, regarding the functioning of the government and the way this systematic victimisation of whistleblowers and opponents is taking place. It’s time each and every one of us, irrespective of our political or ideological inclination, come out openly and question this regime, whenever we feel that someone is being wronged. These are the actions of a government left unquestioned. Is it not time that we hold the government responsible for their actions? Today it is us, tomorrow it could be you.

God Bless

#EnoughIsEnough #JusticeForSanjivBhatt

Comments

Fairman
 - 
Sunday, 14 Oct 2018

I request someone please open a page to support SANJEEV BHAT.

Bhat's Fair Su…
 - 
Saturday, 13 Oct 2018

Let us make a facebook group.

-    JUSTICE GROUP FOR SANJEEV BHAT'    

 

Social media has effectively united many people and deposed the country's top leaders, presidents.

Let all be united and fight for this innocent brother SANJEEV BHAT. He is proud of our Country.

 Regardless what is our cast, religion, let us all united, fight in support this innocent brother  against his own stateman  MODI.  

Shamless Modi, can be overthrown.  If anybody has the fear of his/her creator the  God, come forward and join hands.

Every religion commands not to bow to the injustice.  Let us teach MODI & his ciminal associates a good unforgettable lesson that TRUTH WILL NOT BE DEFEATED.

 

Jai  to Truth and Justice.

Shocked Indian
 - 
Saturday, 13 Oct 2018

They entered the bedroom when she was sleeping there... This shows what kind of people they are and what they can do. We must consider this as a wakeup call. Need to act in 2019 polls. Otherwise it will be too late. They can rape our wives. 

Niki Jobe
 - 
Saturday, 13 Oct 2018

If he was in Mumbai, they would have eliminated him during Mumbai terror attack just like they finished Hemant Karkare and other cops who had taken on saffron terrorists.

Madhusoodhan
 - 
Saturday, 13 Oct 2018

If this is the situation of a pure Brahmin like Sanjiv Bhatt, then what’s the fate of lower caste people in the country? It really scares us.

zahoor ahmed
 - 
Saturday, 13 Oct 2018

No Doubt, We Peace loving People with you always.

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News Network
May 25,2020

The government of India has added 141 more flights to West Asian countries for the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission, its massive repatriation programme for citizens stranded overseas because of Covid-19-related travel restrictions.

The second phase was to end on May 22. However, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Anurag Srivastava said the ongoing phase will last till June 13 and that India is looking at making Frankfurt a hub for the mission.

With these new flights, more than half of them to the United Arab Emirates, the total number of flights in the second phase of the programme have gone up to more than 400, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity.

The flights were added due to increased demand from citizens stranded in West Asian countries and the availability of adequate quarantine facilities in states for the returning Indians, the people said. As with all the flights operated so far under Vande Bharat Mission, priority will be given in the second phase to Indian nationals with compelling reasons for returning to the country, they added.

The additional flights are from the UAE (81 flights), Oman and Saudi Arabia (15 flights each), Kuwait (14 flights), Qatar (11 flights) and Bahrain (five flights).

A majority of the flights are bound for Kerala (84 flights), while the other destinations are Delhi (10 flights), Tamil Nadu (nine flights), Telangana (six flights) Gujarat and Jammu and Kashmir (five flights each), Bihar, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh (four flights each), Punjab (three flights), Odisha and West Bengal (two flights each), Chandigarh, Karnataka and Goa (one flight each).

The other 260-odd flights being operated during the second phase of Vande Bharat Mission are from Armenia, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Malaysia, Mauritius, Myanmar, Nepal, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, the Philippines, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Tajikistan, the UK, Ukraine and the US.

The second phase of the repatriation programme began on May 16 and will continue till June 13, with all the flights being operated by state-run Air India and its subsidiary Air India Express. Private airlines are likely to be included in the third phase.

As of Thursday, a total of 23,475 Indians have been repatriated under Vande Bharat Mission. The second phase had included new destinations such as Istanbul, Ho Chi Minh City and Lagos, and had increased flights to the US and Europe.

More than 259,000 Indians in 98 countries across the world have registered to return under Vande Bharat Mission. Most of them are workers (28%), students (25%), professionals (14.5%), and short-term visa holders such as tourists (7.6%). Fishermen, deportees and Indian nationals who benefited from visa amnesties have also registered.

Comments

Uwaiz
 - 
Tuesday, 26 May 2020

No flights from oman to manglore nor to Banglore 

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coastaldigest.com news network
August 8,2020

Mangaluru, Aug 8: As visuals of the Air India Express flight crash at Kozhikode international airport emerge, one cannot help but be reminded of an eerily similar and unfortunate accident that occurred a decade ago. The August 7, 2020 tragedy brought back memories of the 2010 crash.

It was on May 22, 2010 that an Air India Express Boeing 737-800 flight from Dubai to Mangaluru over shot the runway while landing at Bajpe airport and fell into a cliff. Of the 160 passengers and 6 crew members on board, 158 were killed (all crew members and 152 passengers) and only 8 survived.

Even back then, the plane had split into two. The crash has been termed as one of India's worst aviation disasters.

The final conversations between Air traffic control (ATC) and the pilot prior to the landing showed no indication of any distress.

Like the Mangaluru accident, Karipur crash too happened when the flight was attempting to land.

The captain of the aircraft which crashed at Mangaluru, Z Glucia, was an experienced pilot with 10,000 hours of flying experience and had 19 landings at the Mangalore airport. Co-pilot S S Ahluwalia, with 3,000 hours of flying experience had as many as 66 landings at this airport. Both the pilot and co-pilot were among the victims.

An investigation into the accident later found that the cause of the accident was the captain’s failure to discontinue an ‘unstabilised approach’ and his persistence to continue with the landing, despite three calls from the First Officer to ‘go-around’.

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coastaldigest.com news network
June 13,2020

Mangaluru, June 13:  The Central Crime Branch of Bengaluru City Police, which is digging up old cases involving underworld gangster Ravi Pujari, has now launched a fresh probe into the murder of human rights lawyer Naushad Kashimji.

Kashimji was gunned down on April 9, 2009 at the basement of his apartment in Falnir in Mangaluru. Ravi Pujari had allegedly ordered the hit. 

As part of investigation, a team from Benglauru CCB has come to Mangaluru. CCB sleuths, who obtained Pujari’s police custody in connection with this case, are tying up the loose ends pertaining to the murder of Kashimji who was representing D-Company hitman Abdul Rashid Hassan Malbari aka Malbari. 

Pujari was said to be unhappy over Kashimji representing Malbari. Pujari had also allegedly issued life threats, directing him to desist from doing so.

Kashimji had reportedly received more than 10 international threat calls from March 30 to April 9 (the day he was murdered). According to a senior police officer, the advocate had not informed the police or his then senior Purushottam Poojary about receiving the threat calls. “This came to light when police went through his call records later,” the officer explained.

“CCB team is primarily focusing on Pujari’s role in the advocate’s sensational murder,” a senior CCB officer handling the investigating said. 

“We have also lined up other cases in which Pujari is allegedly involved, but had filed the chargesheet against him in absentia as he was then a fugitive,” the officer added. The team is now picking up threads of Pujari’s involvement cases in Dakshina Kannada, Udupi and Chikkamagaluru districts.

Pujari, currently in police custody in Bengaluru, is accused in more than 30 cases reported in Mangaluru from 2007 to 2018. Majority of the cases against Pujari pertain to extortion and extending death threats, one relating to murder, three to shootings/ abduction and one where he supplied money to his henchmen in prison. Police have filed ‘C’ report in 17 out of 28 threat call cases and ‘B’ report in one case. Rest are in different stages of trial.

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