Gujarat court holds ex-IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt guilty in 1996 drug planting case

In a blow to former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, a court at Palanpur in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Wednesday held him guilty of offences dating back to 1996 in a drug-planting case. Special Public Prosecutor Amit Patel said the court of additional sessions judge JN Thakkar heard the prosecution as well as the defence on the quantum of sentence and was expected to pronounce its verdict on Thursday. The prosecution has argued for the maximum punishment of 20 years. Bhatt has been held guilty under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act sections 21(c), 27A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders), 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy to commit offence under NDPS Act), 58 (1) and (2) (vexatious entry, search, seizure and arrest). He has also been held guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged document), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 204 (secrets or destroys any document), 343 (wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intent).   Bhatt was facing trial in the case where a Rajasthan-based lawyer, Sumer Singh Rajpurohit, was arrested for allegedly keeping 1.15 kg of opium at a Palanpur hotel in 1996. Bhatt was the district superintendent of police at the time and IB Vyas, an inspector with the local crime branch at Palanpur at the time, was a co-accused. Vyas was made an approver in 2021.   In a blow to former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, a court at Palanpur in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Wednesday held him guilty of offences dating back to 1996 in a drug-planting case.   Special Public Prosecutor Amit Patel said the court of additional sessions judge JN Thakkar heard the prosecution as well as the defence on the quantum of sentence and was expected to pronounce its verdict on Thursday.   The prosecution has argued for the maximum punishment of 20 years.   Bhatt has been held guilty under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act sections 21(c), 27A (punishment for financing illicit traffic and harbouring offenders), 29 (abetment and criminal conspiracy to commit offence under NDPS Act), 58 (1) and (2) (vexatious entry, search, seizure and arrest). He has also been held guilty under Indian Penal Code sections 465 (forgery), 471 (using forged document), 167 (public servant framing an incorrect document with intent to cause injury), 204 (secrets or destroys any document), 343 (wrongful confinement), 120B (criminal conspiracy) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intent).   Bhatt was facing trial in the case where a Rajasthan-based lawyer, Sumer Singh Rajpurohit, was arrested for allegedly keeping 1.15 kg of opium at a Palanpur hotel in 1996. Bhatt was the district superintendent of police at the time and IB Vyas, an inspector with the local crime branch at Palanpur at the time, was a co-accused. Vyas was made an approver in 2021.   In a blow to former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, a court at Palanpur in Gujarat’s Banaskantha district on Wednesday held him guilty of offences dating back to 1996 in a drug-planting case.   Special Public Prosecutor Amit Patel said the court of additional sessions judge JN Thakkar heard the prosecution as well as the defence on the quantum of sentence and was expected to pronounce its verdict on Thursday.   The prosecution has argued for the maximum punishment of 20 years.   Bhatt has been held guilty under Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act sections