D.G. Vanzara blames Modi, Shah for 'encounter' killings

Suspended police officer DG Vanzara has quit the IPS after alleging that Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and former minister of state for home Amit Shah were also to blame for lsquoencounter deathsrsquo that have kept him and 31 other officers in jail for years D G Vanzara C and Rajkumar Pandiyan L two of the three senior officers arrested in the Soharabuddin Sheikh fake encounter are escorted by police following an appearance in the magistratersquos court in Ahmedabad 01 May 2007 PicAFP In an explosive 10page letter dated September 1 made available to the media Tuesday Vanzara long known as an encounter specialist said ldquothis spineless government of Gujarat has ceased to command my allegiance trust and loyaltyrdquo for not standing by the jailed officers Describing Modi as a lsquoGodrsquo who failed and attacking Shah for not protecting the jailed police officers he said Gujaratrsquos rulers could not evade blame for the many lsquoencounter deathsrsquo in the state Vanzara said in the letter from the Sabarmati Central Prison that if he and his colleagues could be charged with fake encounters then the CBI must ldquoarrest the policy formulators also as we simply implemented the conscious policy of this governmentrdquo ldquoI am of the firm opinion that the place of this government instead of being in Gandhinagar should either be in Taloja Central Prison at Navi Mumbai or in Sabarmati Central Prison at Ahmedabad The logic is very simple ie the government and police officers are sailing in the same boat and have to swim or sink together None should try to outsmart the other and try to swim at the cost of otherrdquo said the suspended supercop who has been in jail since his arrest in April 2007 in connection with more than one encounter killing Attack against Shah Vanzara accused Modi confidant Shah now the BJP campaign head in Uttar Pradesh of employing dirty tactics to save himself from criminal cases ldquowhile ditching the police officers toallow them to die unnatural death by drowningrdquo ldquoBy adopting such a suicidal path this government is doing nothing else but hastening and facilitating its own death by drowningrdquo Vanzara said he had for long adored Modi ldquoBut I am sorry to state that my God could not rise to the occasion under the evil influence of Amitbhai Shah His Shahrsquos unholy grip over the state administration is so complete that he is almost running the government of Gujarat by proxyrdquo The cop referred to Modirsquos repeated vows to lsquorepay what he owes to Mother Indiarsquo ldquoIt would not be out of context to remind him that he in the hurry of marching towards Delhi may kindly not forget to repay the debt which he owes to jailed police officersrdquo Betrayed Vanzara said he and his colleagues in the Crime Branch ATS and Border Range ldquosimply acted and performed their duties in compliance with the conscious policy of this governmentrdquo after a spurt in Pakistansponsored terrorism following the Godhra train burning and Gujarat riots of 2002 He also said that the 32 Rajasthan and Gujarat police officers including six from IPS in prisons had been left to fend for themselves ldquoI and my officers feel ditched and disowned by this government and there remains no valid reason for us to continue to trust this government and its ace strategist Amitbhai Shahrdquo He said he and his men not only prevented Gujarat from becoming another Kashmir but created an atmosphere of peace and security in Gujarat ldquoBut for our sacrifices the Gujarat model of development which this government is so assiduously showcasing at the national level would not become possiblerdquo Vanzara said ldquoAs the government has miserably failed in protecting its police there remains no onesided obligation on my part to protect the traitors sitting in this government who almost have pushed patriotic and nationalist police officers into the jaws of deathrdquo Who is DG Vanzara Vanzara was a 1987 batch Indian Police Service officer who headed the Crime Branch and AntiTerrorist Squad in Gujarat Vanzara has been accused in the killings of Sohrabuddin Sheikh and his wife Kausar Bi 2005 Ishrat Jehan 2004 and Tulsi Prajapati said to be an accomplice of Sohrabuddin in 2006 All of them were then described as terrorists wanting tou00a0target Modi Vanzara was arrested in April 2007 by the Gujarat Crime Investigation Department CID in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case and which sought permission to conduct a narcoanalysis test on himu00a0