Security 8216;upgraded8217; at Sanjiv Bhatt8217;s house

This comes days after 'The Indian Express' reported that fresh recruits were posted at the DIGs house.

The Ahmedabad police replaced the junior security officers posted at the house of arrested IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt with experienced personnel on Wednesday night. The new policemen on job have at least five to 10 years of experience.

This comes days after The Indian Express reported that fresh recruits were posted at the DIGs house.

Police Commissioner Sudhir Sinha said,The previously deployed policemen were from Lok Rakshak Dal. A media organisation had raised an objection to it. We have taken that into account and replaced them with experienced and trained men.

Officials at the Special Branch and Ahmedabad Police Headquarters,on the other hand,said it was part of routine change of duty.

Bhatts wife,Shweta,has written twice to Union Home Minister P Chidambaram requesting him to intervene and ensure tight security for the IPS officer. Following her first letter,the central government had asked the state government to ensure adequate security to Bhatt and his family as per the local threat perception. The Home Ministry had also said they were independently carrying out threat assessment at their level.

Her second letter to Chidambaram was sent on Wednesday about the alleged ill-treatment being meted out to her husband in custody. With the letter,she also attached a CD with a recording of Bhatt in the Ahmedabad Crime Branchs custody where he was allegedly ill-treated.

I came to know about the CD tonight when someone handed it to me. Earlier,I just had the information that they kept him in the lockup and denied food and water. My brothers kept standing outside with food but they were not allowed to see Sanjiv. The CD has the proof of how he was ill-treated, Shweta said.

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After Bhatt was arrested on September 30,the security officers at his house were changed. The Ahmedabad Police Headquarters,which sends the policemen in three shifts to Bhatts house,had posted new recruits,who had no prior experience of providing security at VIP residences.

The policemen armed with .303 rifle were posted at Bhatts house after he wrote to the state five times in February and March that he and his family needed security. Following this,the sate Intelligence Bureau had ordered an assessment and asked Ghatlodia police to prepare a report. The police report concluded Bhatt may be given a Y category security.