Ex-IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt Acquitted in 1997 Custodial Torture Case

A Gujarat court cited insufficient evidence and lack of prosecution sanction in clearing Bhatt of charges related to custodial torture over two decades ago.

Sanjiv Bhatt, a former IPS officer, was acquitted by a Porbandar court in a 1997 custodial torture case due to lack of evidence and prosecution sanction.
The case involved allegations of physical and mental torture, including electric shocks, to extract a confession from Naran Jadav, an accused in a 1994 arms landing case.
Bhatt’s co-accused, constable Vajubhai Chau, was removed from the case following his death, and the charges included causing hurt with dangerous weapons under IPC sections 330 and 324.
Bhatt is currently serving a life sentence for a 1990 custodial death case and a 20-year sentence for a 1996 drug-planting case, both unrelated to this acquittal.
The former officer is also implicated in other cases, including alleged evidence fabrication linked to the 2002 Gujarat riots, and his earlier claims against then-Chief Minister Narendra Modi were dismissed by investigators.