“The government of the day has decided to remove me from service after conducting a sham, ex parte inquiry on completely fabricated charges of ‘unauthorised absence from duty, ‘” he said in a Facebook post late Wednesday night, adding that the absences referred to the period when he was deposing before the SIT and another commission instituted to investigate the riots.
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The Indian Police Service officer became famous for alleging that Narendra Modi, then Chief Minister of Gujarat, was complicit in the riots of 2002, in which more than 1000 people were killed. He had alleged in an affidavit in the Supreme Court that Modi had instructed top police officers to allow Hindus “to vent out their anger” after the train-burning incident at Godhra in February 2002.
“Bhatt had remained defiant and fragrantly flouted the rules with complete disregard to discipline which should have been the hallmark of an officer of a uniformed force”, the Home Ministry said in the August 13 order saying Bhatt be removed from the service but this shall not be a disqualification for his future employment under the government. The IPS officer has been suspended since 2011. “Finally removed from service today after serving 27 years in the Indian Police Service”, Bhatt tweeted. Bhatt was also implicated in several cases and a detailed dossier was compiled and sent to the MHA seeking his dismissal from the service, according to the report.
“I had joined the police with a passion, now it seems the country and this government does not need me. I got the letter (sack order) from them (the Home ministry)”, Bhatt told PTI. May He continue to lead me in my just pursuits.
Modi was effectively blacklisted by a number of foreign powers in the aftermath of the riots, which happened shortly after he took over as the state’s chief minister.
The government’s move also comes two days after he has been served with a showcause notice on the basis of a video clip to explain his alleged “illicit relationship” with an unknown woman, a charge denied by him.
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It states that he failed to respond to charges of indiscipline levied against him in 2012 and subsequently upheld by an official inquiry conducted in his absence.
