State govt asks Centre to dismiss Bhatt

Bhatt had claimed Modi had asked the top officials present at the meeting to go easy on the rioters.

After his arrest,Bhatt had spent 15 days in Sabarmati Central Jail before being released on bail.

A senior official from the state’s Home Department confirmed the development said,“A proposal has been sent to the Centre to dismiss Sanjiv Bhatt from Indian Police Service. He is facing suspension in two cases. He has been charged with the serious offence of filing a false affidavit in post-Godhra riot cases for which he has spent time in jail.”

Bhatt was first placed under suspension by the state’s Home Department under Rule 3(1) of All India Services (Discipline and Appeals) Rules (1969) on August 8,2011.

The specific reasons cited for his suspension were his unauthorised absence from duty,non-appearance before a departmental panel and alleged misuse of official vehicles when he was posted as the principal of State Reserve Police Force training school in Junagadh.

However,his suspension was revoked in this case by the central review committee in August 2012,when the state government sought an extension of his suspension.

Bhatt remains suspended from the services on the charge of forcing the constable to file a false affidavit.

Bhatt’s wife Shweta contested on a Congress ticket against Modi from Maninagar in the 2012 Assembly polls.