<p class="title">Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested on Wednesday by the Gujarat CID in connection with a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest a man, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt and seven others, including some former policemen attached with the Banaskantha Police, were initially detained for questioning in the case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly after being questioned, Bhatt was arrested by the Crime Investigation Department while others are still kept under detention, Director General of Police, CID, Ashish Bhatia said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt was the Banaskantha district superintendent of police in 1996. He was dismissed from the service in 2015.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As per the case details, the Banaskantha Police under Bhatt had arrested one Sumersingh Rajpurohit, an advocate, in 1996 on charges of possessing around one kg of drugs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At that time, the Banaskantha Police had claimed that drugs were found in a hotel room occupied by Rajpurohit in the district's Palanpur town.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, a probe by the Rajasthan Police had revealed that Rajpurohit was allegedly falsely implicated by the Banaskantha Police to compel him to transfer a disputed property at Pali in Rajasthan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It had also found that Rajpurohit was allegedly abducted by the Banaskantha Police from his residence at Pali in Rajasthan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following the Rajasthan Police's investigation, former police inspector of Banaskantha, I B Vyas, had moved the Gujarat High Court in 1999 demanding a thorough inquiry into the matter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In June this year, the high court had handed over the probe in the case to the CID while hearing the petition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The high court had asked the CID to complete the probe in three months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt was in August 2015 sacked by the union home ministry on grounds of "unauthorised absence" from service. He has been a vocal critic of the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media platforms.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt had last week met Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who is on an indefinite fast since August 25 at his residence demanding reservation for his community and farm loan waiver.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Recently, the BJP-ruled Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation razed illegal construction at Bhatt's residence here after the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on the demolition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt had several run-ins with the BJP government in the past over the issue of the 2002 post-Godhra riots. </p>
<p class="title">Former IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was arrested on Wednesday by the Gujarat CID in connection with a 22-year-old case of alleged planting of drugs to arrest a man, police said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt and seven others, including some former policemen attached with the Banaskantha Police, were initially detained for questioning in the case.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Shortly after being questioned, Bhatt was arrested by the Crime Investigation Department while others are still kept under detention, Director General of Police, CID, Ashish Bhatia said.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt was the Banaskantha district superintendent of police in 1996. He was dismissed from the service in 2015.</p>.<p class="bodytext">As per the case details, the Banaskantha Police under Bhatt had arrested one Sumersingh Rajpurohit, an advocate, in 1996 on charges of possessing around one kg of drugs.</p>.<p class="bodytext">At that time, the Banaskantha Police had claimed that drugs were found in a hotel room occupied by Rajpurohit in the district's Palanpur town.</p>.<p class="bodytext">However, a probe by the Rajasthan Police had revealed that Rajpurohit was allegedly falsely implicated by the Banaskantha Police to compel him to transfer a disputed property at Pali in Rajasthan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">It had also found that Rajpurohit was allegedly abducted by the Banaskantha Police from his residence at Pali in Rajasthan.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Following the Rajasthan Police's investigation, former police inspector of Banaskantha, I B Vyas, had moved the Gujarat High Court in 1999 demanding a thorough inquiry into the matter.</p>.<p class="bodytext">In June this year, the high court had handed over the probe in the case to the CID while hearing the petition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">The high court had asked the CID to complete the probe in three months.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt was in August 2015 sacked by the union home ministry on grounds of "unauthorised absence" from service. He has been a vocal critic of the ruling BJP and Prime Minister Narendra Modi on social media platforms.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt had last week met Patidar leader Hardik Patel, who is on an indefinite fast since August 25 at his residence demanding reservation for his community and farm loan waiver.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Recently, the BJP-ruled Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation razed illegal construction at Bhatt's residence here after the Supreme Court dismissed his plea seeking a stay on the demolition.</p>.<p class="bodytext">Bhatt had several run-ins with the BJP government in the past over the issue of the 2002 post-Godhra riots. </p>