The Gujarat government appointed 1985-batch IPS officer of Director General of Police rank, Ashish Bhatia, as the state police chief who replaced incumbent DGP Shivanand Jha after his superannuation on Friday.
Bhatia, currently the commissioner of police, Ahmedabad city, is also the convener of the Supreme Court-appointed Special Investigation Team (SIT) which probed nine major cases of 2002 post-Godhra riots.
Bhatia is the senior-most officer heading the SIT which probed Naroda Patiya, Naroda Gam, Gulberg Society, Ode, Sardarpura riot cases.
It also probed a complaint filed by Zakia Jafri, wife of ex-Congress MP Ahsan Jafri who was killed in Gulberg Society Massacre along with 68 others Muslims by a mob, alleging then chief minister Narendra Modi, now prime minister, among others of orchestrating the riots.
The SIT report found no evidence supporting her allegations and gave a clean chit to Modi and others. A magisterial court in Ahmedabad and Gujarat High Court has upheld the report which is under challenge in the apex court.
Bhatia, 58, is also known for supervising the 2008 serial bomb blast cases in Ahmedabad in which 57 persons were killed. Over the years, a total of 80 accused have been arrested in this case.
Published 31 July 2020, 15:15 IST