Banaskantha, Mar 28: The Second Additional Sessions Court of Palanpur sentenced former IPS Officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 2 lakhs in the 1996 NDPS case of Palanapur.

In the year 1996, a false case of opium against Pali resident lawyer Shumer Singh Rajpurohit was hatched by the then Superintendent of Police Sanjeev Bhatt (now-dismissed).

The above false case was made to vacate a shop at Pali. In the above crime, the victim's lawyer, Shumersingh Rajpurohit, was wrongly detained and then released as the Pali shop was vacated, and since then Guna's investigation is pending.

In the year 2018, the Gujarat High Court, CID Crime Gujarat, was ordered to investigate who brought the opium, from where, and who planted it in the hotel. Based on which SIT was formed.

After hearing the investigation of the case by the SIT, the accused, Sanjeev Rajendra Bhatt, and the then and now retired dysp. IB Vyasano, have been arrested and chargesheeted in Namdar court within a three-month time limit. It is noted that the accused, Sanjeev Bhatt, has been in jail since his arrest.

Subsequently, charges were framed by the Namdar Court in 2019, and the case was opened against the accused, during which several petitions and applications were filed in the trial court, Namdar High Court, and Namdar Supreme Court by the accused Sajeev Bhatt in the above judicial process, regarding those petitions.

Necessary affidavits were submitted to the Namdar Court in coordination with the investigating officer and the special public prosecutor, and those applications were rejected.

Then the accused of this work, retired dysp. B Vyas Nao, applying to be a Crown witness, was pardoned by the Court and ordered to be a Crown witness.

Thus, at the end of the intensive and thorough investigation and trial conducted by the Special Public Prosecutors against the accused, Sanjeev Rajendra Bhatt, Sections-21(c), 27(a), 29, 58 of the NDPS Act. 1), 58(2), and successfully proved the offense under Sections 116, 167, 204, 343, 465, 471, and Section-120(B) of the Indian Penal Code, on the basis of which the Court found the accused guilty on March 27, 2024.

A Gujarat court on June 2019 sentenced former Sanjiv Bhatt to life imprisonment in another custodial death case dating back to 1990. (ANI)

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