Street March in support of Sanjiv Bhatt, IPS Officer

Street March in support of Sanjiv Bhatt, IPS Officer

Press Note

 

On 13.10.2011 at 4 pm some citizens and civil organizations of Lucknow met in the office of Saajhi Duniya and discussed the circumstances in which the IPS officer Mr. Sanjeev Bhatt has been arrested in Gujarat. Prominent among those who attended the meeting were Mr. Salam Siddiqui, Rakesh, Virendra Yadav, Ravi Sinha, Kanchan Sinha, Nadeem Hasnain, Athar Hussain, Julie Khanna, Suryamohan Kulshreshtha, Ankita Mishra, Anushka Tandon, Uzma Zaki, Kahkashan Perween & Prof. Roop Rekha Verma who is the secretary of Saajhi Duniya and who convened the meeting. Mr. Virendra Yadav referred to the letter written by Sanjeev Bhatt to the Chief Minister of Gujarat wherein he says that he is duty bound to speak out the truth regarding the carnage in 2002 and cannot be a party to the falsehood being spread by the government. The letter shows great courage on the part of police officer and predictably invites lots of hassles for him. All those who attended the meeting praised Sanjeev Bhatt for his exemplary courage and his commitment to truth. Prof. Roop Rekha Verma said that the courage shown by Sanjeev Bhatt is unparalled since speaking against the wrong doings of the top authority of a system under which Sanjeev Bhatt is just an employee is sure to invite persecution and oppression. The way in which a constable who is placed at the lowest rung of police force has been used to file a complaint against Sanjeev Bhatt exposes the extent to which Modi and his government can go to obstruct justice and truth. Because this very constable initially had given statements testifying the presence of Sanjeev Bhatt in the meeting called by Modi at the beginning of 2002 carnage.

 

Prof. Verma  also pointed out that anyone who initiated the process of exposing the criminal acts of Chief Minister Narendra Modi or wanted to fight for the justice for the victims was either removed from the scene or else harassed beyond limits. This is clear from the murder of Haren Pandya, a close aide of Modi but much too unwilling to suppress the truth of 2002, and from the grave harassment of human rights activists like Mukul Sinha. Further, it is strange that judgement on the bail application of Sanjeev Bhatt has been postponed twice whereas even rapists and murders often get bail after one hearing. It seems as if even the courts are under great pressure under the Modi regime. Thus, the episode of Sanjeev Bhatt is an indicator of not only one person's harassment but it is also a signal of the subversion of democratic and justice dispensing institutions in Gujarat under Narendra Modi's regime.

 

Rakesh of Indian People Theatre Association expressed similar sentiments. The consensus was that those who wish to see democracy and secularism flourish, should support Sanjeev Bhatt with all their might and try to defeat the regime of falsehood and fascism in Gujarat. If this is not done now, the chances of pro-people polity would be very dim.

 

It was also decided that on October 15, 2011 a March will be taken out on the streets of Lucknow in support of Sanjeev Bhatt and for democratic and secular values.

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Irfan Engineer
Director, Institute of Peace Studies and Conflict Resolution,
603, Silver Star, Next to Omkar Building, Near Railway Bridge, Prbhat Colony, Santacruz (E), Mumbai, India. PIN: 400055.
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e-mail: irfansan@hotmail.com

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