Ahmedabad: Gujarat High Court today allowed 10 days remand of dismissed IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt and former LCB PI I B Vyas to CID-crime in connection with a sensational case pertaining to the alleged abduction and arrest of a Rajasthan Lawyer after planted recovery of opium from a hotel in Palanpur headquarter town of Banaskantha district in North Gujarat over 22 years ago.

His 14 days remand request was earlier rejected by the ACJM court of Palanpur in Banaskantha district on September 6, a day after the arrest of the duo on September 5. Bhatt was SP of Banaskantha at that time while Vyas was PI at the LCB unit there.

The single bench court of Justice R P Dholaria today accepted the prosecution argument that the high court itself has ordered a detailed investigation of the matter and CID-crime has constituted an SIT for the purpose. He allowed 10 days remand of Bhatt and Vyas for further interrogation. CID-crime had requested 14 days remand.

Earlier while rejecting the remand request, the lower court had accepted the defence lawyer’s argument that the case was over two decades old and a petition related to it was pending before the Supreme Court. Bhatt along with Vyas (whose remand plea by CID-crime was also rejected) were then sent to judicial custody and were now lodged in Palanpur jail.
After that the CID-crime yesterday approached Gujarat high court for remand.

A lawyer from Pali in Rajasthan, Sumshersinh Rajpurohit was arrested by Banaskantha police from his native in May 1996 after recovery of one kg Opium from a local hotel in NDPS Act. But during identification parade the hotel manager could not identify him. He was later released. Bhatt was then SP of Banskantha.

Rajpurohit later filed a case in Rajasthan alleging that he was kidnapped by police in plain cloth at the instance of the then Gujarat high court judge R R Jain who wanted forceful eviction of one of his relative from his sister’s shop in Pali.

The Rajasthan court accepted his contention and found fault with Banaskantha police.

Later in 1998 retired Justice Jain filed a petition in Gujarat High Court demanding a thorough probe in the matter alleging that Rajasthan police’s investigation was influenced by the then CM of the state and also the Bar Association of Pali. A co-accused police official I B Vyas also filed another such petition in 1999.

In June this year while hearing the matter Justice J B Pardiwala of the Gujarat High Court ordered a probe by SIT of CID-crime.

DeshGujarat