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Supreme Court Dismisses Sanjiv Bhat's Petition To Implead Amit Shah In Gujarat Riot Cases

Supreme Court Dismisses Sanjiv Bhat's Petition To Implead Amit Shah In Gujarat Riot Cases
Indiaâs ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah speaks at a press conference in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Shah is on a two-day visit to the newly created state Telangana. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)
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Indiaâs ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) President Amit Shah speaks at a press conference in Hyderabad, India, Thursday, Jan. 8, 2015. Shah is on a two-day visit to the newly created state Telangana. (AP Photo/Mahesh Kumar A.)

NEW DELHI -- The Supreme Court today dismissed former Gujarat police official Sanjiv Bhatt's petition to implead senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah in in his petition related to the 2002 Gujarat Riots.

Bhatt, who was suspended from Indian Police Service in 2011 for being absent from duty, has sought impleadment of Shah in his petition for investigation of the FIRs filed against him by constable KD Pant for allegedly coercing him to sign a false affidavit, and by Tushar Mehta, the state's then advocate-general, for hacking into his email account.

The Supreme Court dismissed his petition for a Supreme Court-monitored Special Investigation Team (SIT) probe into the two FIRs registered against him, and lifted the stay on Bhatt's trial in the two cases.

Bhatt had submitted a petition to investigate alleged collusion between government officials, defence lawyers, and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Amit Shah, in cases relating to the 2002 Gujarat riots and the fake encounter case of Sohrabuddin Sheikh.

"The sheer magnitude of the collusion between the state administration and the accused persons and their lawyers to undermine the process of justice is unheard of, even in mass crimes trials," said his application to the Supreme Court.

Bhatt, who became famous for crossing swords with the state establishment, alleged that former Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi, now prime minister, told police officials to "let Hindus vent their anger" after the Sabarmati Express carrying Hindu pilgrims was torched in February 2002.

In 2011, Bhatt filed an affidavit with the Supreme Court, which said that Modi told police officials on Feb 27, 2012, "This time the situation warranted that the Muslims be taught a lesson to ensure that such situations that do not recur ever again."

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