Sanjiv Bhatt, a former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer from the Gujarat cadre and IIT Bombay alumnus, has been imprisoned for seven years, a period his wife, Shweta Bhatt, describes as a grave miscarriage of justice in her emotional social media post. Known for his allegations against then-Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi regarding the 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhatt was dismissed from service in 2015. He is currently serving a life sentence for a 1990 custodial death case in Jamnagar, where he was found guilty of involvement in the torture and death of detainee Prabhudas Vaishnani. Additionally, in March 2024, he was sentenced to 20 years for a 1996 case involving the alleged framing of a Rajasthan lawyer, Sumersingh Rajpurohit, by planting drugs to force him to vacate a shop. Despite his acquittal in a 1997 custodial torture case in December 2024, Bhatt remains in Rajkot Central Jail, enduring what his wife calls an unjust punishment for his courage to speak truth to power.
Shweta Bhatt’s Emotional Post
Today marks 7 years … 2555 days since Sanjiv Bhatt, an honest, upright officer, has been languishing in jail — wrongfully incarcerated for having the courage to speak truth to power! As I sit to pen down this post, I pause to wonder when we, as a nation, lost sight of what truly matters ….When did appeasing the fragile ego of a megalomaniac fascist take precedence over safeguarding the very soul of our country?
Today, brilliant minds, honest souls, and courageous hearts languish in prison …They are mocked, humiliated, and silenced by a judiciary that was meant to protect them, meant to deliver justice, not serve as a handmaiden to power. And so, we must ask ourselves: where did we, as a people, go wrong?
And more hauntingly — is it too late to turn back? It takes unimaginable courage, resilience, and faith to stand alone against an entire system designed to crush you. Day after day, year after year, these heroes endure indignity, isolation, and suffering — yet refuse to bow down! The nation owes them a debt beyond measure …. And yet, instead of standing with them, we leave them to fight alone. Today marks seven years of Sanjiv’s unlawful incarceration …. Seven years stolen from a man whose only “crime” was to speak truth to power.
Seven years during which the machinery of injustice has worked tirelessly to break his spirit. Seven years in which rapists, murderers, and lynchers walk free, while a man of conscience languishes in jail — his courage the only crime that keeps him there. As days bleed into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years, the mockery of justice continues.
I often wonder, Who is to be held responsible? The totalitarian political duo that pulls the strings? The judiciary that bends its spine to serve power? Or the mute spectators who choose comfort in silence while injustice reigns? We, as a family have and will continue to fight for justice…. the question is, when will you find your courage to join the fight? When will you rise and say: Enough, is Enough!! This regime survives on fear. It thrives on cowardice, greed, and silence. But must we remain silent? Must we allow them to believe that we, the people of India, are cowards, spectators, shadows without voices? The time has come to prove otherwise.
The time has come to raise our voice. Stand for the heroes who sacrifice everything — their freedom, their families, their futures — yet walk with heads held high and smiles on their faces! This regime has tirelessly tried to make every attempt for the world to forget these heroes, but we must not … We cannot!
For seven long years, Sanjiv Bhatt has stood alone, fighting quietly, courageously, against the darkest forces of power. He has endured what few of us could, with dignity and unshaken conviction. If there was ever a moment to defend those who defend truth, that moment is now… If there was ever a time to reclaim the nation’s conscience, that time is now… If there was ever a chance to prove that India still has brave hearts who will not bow to tyranny — it is now!
It is time for us to show Sanjiv Bhatt that he is not forgotten …That he is not alone in his fight! The time to fight for justice is now!!