Gujarat Court: The second Additional District & Sessions Judge, Palanpur, JN Thakkar sentenced former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt to 20 years of imprisonment in the 1996 drug-planting case.
Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested in 2018 pursuant to a direction of the Gujarat High Court to the Criminal Investigation Department (‘CID’) to investigate the allegations made by Rajasthan based lawyer for framing him on the allegations of keeping 3 kg of narcotics substance at a Palanpur hotel in 1996. During that time, Bhatt was serving as Superintendent of Police.
The Court held him guilty for offences under Sections 21(c), 27-A, 29, 58(1) and (2) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act 1985 and sentenced him to undergo 20 years of imprisonment.
Earlier, the Gujarat High Court rejected a transfer plea filed by Bhatt of his trial in the 1996 drug-planting case to a Court in Banaskantha district, holding that any case of bias was not established and called it an attempt to scandalize and pressurize the Court.
Source: Press
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