Modi govt suspends whistleblower officer Sanjeev Bhatt

“It is another self-goal by the state government. I will take necessary legal steps after talking to lawyers tomorrow,’’ he said,adding that he had taken authorised leave on personal grounds.

Bhatt,who holds the rank of DIG,was posted as the principal of the special reserve police training school in Junagadh.

The state DGP had earlier issued a memo to Bhatt,asserting that his leave was unauthorised and ordering him to take government permission first before appearing before any court or commission.

Earlier,Bhatt had accused Modi of misusing the state machinery during the post-Godhra riots. He had said that he was present at a meeting on February 27,2002,in which Modi had told his officials to let Hindus vent their ire on Muslims soon after the Sabarmati Express deaths.

In his 19-page supplementary affidavit filed before the Supreme Court last week,Bhatt had also alleged that someone from the Special Investigation Team (SIT) was leaking sensitive and confidential details to Additional Advocate General Tushar Mehta.

Bhatt claimed that he had seen the e-mails from SIT in the personal mail account of Mehta.

Mehta,on his part,lodged a complaint with the state cyber cell accusing Bhatt of hacking his e-mails.