From being the son of a landless labourer in Ilol village of Sabarkantha, DIG D G Vanzara rose to become a supercop — an “encounter specialist”. Today, he finds himself in the dock for allegedly faking an encounter.

Having joined the state police force in 1980, Vanzara was elevated to IPS cadre in 1990. During his posting as Mehsana SP in the early ’90s, he was considered close to the then chief minister Chimanbhai Patel as well as home minister Naresh Raval.

“He was known to carry out instructions effectively. In the aftermath of the Babri Masjid demolition, he ensured that no untoward incident occurred in Mehsana, although there was violence in the rest of Gujarat,” said a senior police officer.

But the controversies began after Vanzara was appointed DCP (Crime Branch) in Ahmedabad after the 2002 riots. This was the period when he earned the tag of being an “encounter specialist”, shooting dead over 10 terrorists. “Most of these encounters were never explained fully. Each time, he would say the police had pre-empted a plot to kill the Chief Minister or VHP leader Pravin Togadia,” said an officer. Vanzara was reported to be close to Modi.

Take a look at some of the cases:

• October 22, 2002: Samirkhan Pathan (30), who was picked up by the Crime Branch a month earlier on charges of plotting to kill Modi, was shot dead in an early morning “encounter”.

• January 13, 2003: Sadiq Jemal Mehtar, a native of Bhavnagar, was shot dead in Naroda. The Crime Branch said Sadiq was in the city to target Modi, L K Advani and Pravin Togadia.

... contd.