Threat to life, but it's not going to stop me: Bhatt

Out on bail, suspended Gujarat IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt still fears for his life and says that people "deserve" the Narendra Modi government as the state has been "laboratory of hatred politics".

Out on bail, suspended Gujarat IPS officer Sanjeev Bhatt still fears for his life and says that people "deserve" the Narendra Modi government as the state has been "laboratory of hatred politics".

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Bhatt, who claims he is being targeted by the BJP government in Gujarat, said the 2002 Godhra riots was one of the best documented in history.

"I know I have threat to my life, but it is not going to stop me. It is government's responsibility to safeguard life of every citizen of the country," he told reporters here on the sidelines of a conference on human rights.

Bhatt was arrested on charges of forcing his subordinate, KD Pant, to file a false affidavit against Gujarat chief minister Narendra Modi, implicating him in the 2002 riots.

Averting a question on why he remained silent for so long as the Gujarat riots took place in 2002, Bhatt said he had already answered it several times.

On how Modi came back to power with a thumping majority despite the riots, Bhatt said, "People get the government they deserve. Gujarat has been laboratory of hatred politics."

Drawing similarity between 1984 anti-Sikh riots and 2002 Gujarat riots, Bhatt also made it clear that his raising of voice was not motivated against a particular political unit and he is of the view that any targetted violence, be it communal or be it sectarian, should be stopped.