Move against Bhatt smacks of vendetta: former Gujarat DGP

“Things being done the wrong way… no justification for harassing his family”

Former Gujarat Director-General of Police P.G.J. Nampoothiri. Photo: K. K. Najeeb

The former Gujarat Director-General of Police and ex-Special Rapporteur to the National Human Rights Commission, P.G.J. Nampoothiri, has said the moves of the Narendra Modi government against IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt smacked of vendetta.

Mr. Bhatt had filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court alleging that Mr. Modi had, in a meeting on February 27, 2002, asked officials not to act against rioters during the Godhra carnage. The IPS officer was arrested after a constable, who had worked under him during the riots, filed an FIR for allegedly threatening him and making him sign a false affidavit.

“A minor case”

“This is a clear case of harassing Bhatt. Even according to the FIR, it is a minor case and he, especially being a senior officer, should not be detained for so many days. Things are being done the wrong way. There is no justification for harassing Bhatt's family,” the former DGP said.

He welcomed disclosures about the riots by the likes of Mr. Bhatt. “It will help us understand what really happened during the riots.”

He criticised the Modi government for reportedly not having implemented the recommendations of the National Human Rights Commission that studied the post-riot conditions in Gujarat.

“Had the recommendations been implemented, the quest of the victims for justice would have gathered force. The NHRC had recommended that five cases [Godhra, Best Bakery, Sardarpura, Naroda Patiya and Gulberg Society] be investigated by the CBI. The other 4,252 cases too required meticulous investigation,” he said.

Mr. Nampoothiri worked for the Gujarat Police for 34 years. He settled in Thrissur after his retirement in 1998.