13, Oct 2011

On 13.10.2011 at 4 pm some citizens and civil organizations of
Lucknow met in the office of Saajhi Duniya and discussed the
circumstances in which the IPS officer Mr. Sanjeev Bhatt has been
arrested in Gujarat. Prominent among those who attended the meeting
were Mr. Salam Siddiqui, Rakesh, Virendra Yadav, Ravi Sinha, Kanchan
Sinha, Nadeem Hasnain, Athar Hussain, Julie Khanna, Suryamohan
Kulshreshtha, Ankita Mishra, Anushka Tandon, Uzma Zaki, Kahkashan
Perween & Prof. Roop Rekha Verma who is the secretary of Saajhi
Duniya and who convened the meeting. Mr. Virendra Yadav referred to
the letter written by Sanjeev Bhatt to the Chief Minister of Gujarat
wherein he says that he is duty bound to speak out the truth
regarding the carnage in 2002 and cannot be a party to the falsehood
being spread by the government. The letter shows great courage on
the part of police officer and predictably invites lots of hassles
for him. All those who attended the meeting praised Sanjeev Bhatt
for his exemplary courage and his commitment to truth. Prof. Roop
Rekha Verma said that the courage shown by Sanjeev Bhatt is
unparalled since speaking against the wrong doings of the top
authority of a system under which Sanjeev Bhatt is just an employee
is sure to invite persecution and oppression. The way in which a
constable who is placed at the lowest rung of police force has been
used to file a complaint against Sanjeev Bhatt exposes the extent to
which Modi and his government can go to obstruct justice and truth.
Because this very constable initially had given statements
testifying the presence of Sanjeev Bhatt in the meeting called by
Modi at the beginning of 2002 carnage.

Prof. Verma  also pointed out that anyone who initiated the process
of exposing the criminal acts of Chief Minister Narendra Modi or
wanted to fight for the justice for the victims was either removed
from the scene or else harassed beyond limits. This is clear from
the murder of Haren Pandya, a close aide of Modi but much too
unwilling to suppress the truth of 2002, and from the grave
harassment of human rights activists like Mukul Sinha. Further, it
is strange that judgement on the bail application of Sanjeev Bhatt
has been postponed twice whereas even rapists and murders often get
bail after one hearing. It seems as if even the courts are under
great pressure under the Modi regime. Thus, the episode of Sanjeev
Bhatt is an indicator of not only one personÂ’s harassment but it is
also a signal of the subversion of democratic and justice dispensing
institutions in Gujarat under Narendra ModiÂ’s regime.

Rakesh of Indian People Theatre Association expressed similar
sentiments. The consensus was that those who wish to see democracy
and secularism flourish, should support Sanjeev Bhatt with all their
might and try to defeat the regime of falsehood and fascism in
Gujarat. If this is not done now, the chances of pro-people polity
would be very dim.

It was also decided that on October 15, 2011 a March will be taken
out on the streets of Lucknow in support of Sanjeev Bhatt and for
democratic and secular values.