Suspended IPS officer D G Vanzara, the prime accused in the Sohrabuddin Shaikh fake encounter case of November 2005, has turned into a poet in the confines of the Sabarmati Central Jail.

According to family sources, he has penned nearly 2,000 poems in over two years in judicial custody in the high security prison. A compilation of about 290 of these poems in the form of two books will now be released at a function in the Town Hall in Gandhinagar on Monday.

Published by a city-based publication house, Navratan Enterprises, the poetry collections have been named Vijaypanth and Sinhgarjana. “These books will be released by noted political columnist Vishnu Pandya and Gujarati filmstar of yesteryears, Upendra Trivedi,” said V G Vanzara, the under secretary in the State Human Rights Commission and the brother of the suspended officer.

He added: “My brother has penned over 2,000 poems on various subjects like his own life experiences, nationalism, patriotism, terrorism, spiritualism and love—all in jail. The publishers have picked up 290 of these poems and compiled them into two books.”

The officer was arrested on April 24, 2007 for his alleged involvement in the November 26, 2005 encounter and the murder of Sohrabuddin’s wife Kausarbi. He has been in judicial custody since May 9, 2007.

Vanzara added: “He started composing poems as a pastime at his barrack in the Sardar Patel yard in jail. This gradually became a passion and turned him into a poet.”

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