In a landmark decision that reverberated through the corridors of justice and law enforcement, the Gujarat court on Thursday handed down a 20-year prison sentence to ex-Indian Police Service (IPS) officer Sanjiv Bhatt. The conviction relates to a nefarious incident from 1996, where Bhatt was found guilty of planting drugs to maliciously frame a lawyer.
The case, which unfolded at the court in Palanpur, Banaskantha district of Gujarat, saw Bhatt held accountable under various stringent sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act (NDPS), including punishment for financing illicit traffic, abetment, and criminal conspiracy. Furthermore, the court found Bhatt guilty of multiple offences under the Indian Penal Code (IPC), such as forgery, wrongful confinement, and criminal conspiracy, highlighting the severity and multiplicity of his crimes.
At the heart of this legal maelstrom is the case of Sumer Singh Rajpurohit, a lawyer from Rajasthan, who was falsely arrested for possession of 1.15 kg of opium in a hotel in Palanpur. The incident, meticulously orchestrated to frame Rajpurohit, dates back over two decades to 1996, a time when Bhatt held the influential position of district superintendent of police.
