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D. G. Vanzara

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Dahyaji Gobarji Vanzara, popularly known as D. G. Vanzara, is the former Inspector-General of Police[1] (IG) from Gujarat, India. He was in judicial custody from 2007 until his bail in 2015 on charges of having conducted a series of extrajudicial killings,[2] while heading the Anti-Terrorist Squad (ATS).[3] He was acquitted in Sohrabuddin case in 2017.[4]

D. G. Vanzara
Known forformer DIG of Gujarat Police in India

Vanzara joined the Gujarat Police as Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) in 1980; upgraded to IPS officer in 1987 and got retired on 31 May 2014 as Deputy IG (DIG). After getting clean chit in fake encounter cases in February 2020, he was promoted to Inspector-General of Police (IG) post-retirement with effect from 29 September 2007.

Cases

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An IPS officer of the 1987 batch, his tenure as head of the city crime bureau saw a spurt (rise) in encounter killings.

The suspect killings include:

  • Sameer Khan (shot dead Sep 2002).[5]
  • Sadik Jamal (killed 2003).
  • Ishrat Jahan and three others (shot dead 15 June 2004).
  • Sohrabuddin Sheikh (shot dead Nov 2005).
  • Sheikh's wife Kausar Bi (killed in Vanzara's village).[6]
  • Tulsiram Prajapati (killed on 28 December 2006).

As of September 2013, there were 32 police officers, including six IPS officers, who were in jail for these encounters.[7] Most of them had worked under Vanzara.

Vanzara himself had a meteoric rise since the early 2000s, when the encounters to eliminate terrorists began.[8]

In 2013, in his letter of resignation, Vanzara stated,[7]

The CID/CBI arrested my officers and me holding us responsible for carrying out allegedly fake encounters. If that is true, then the CBI investigating officers for all four cases have to arrest the policy formulators too as we, being field officers, have simply implemented the policy of this government, which was inspiring, guiding and monitoring our actions from very close quarters.

On 18 May 2008, ex-DSP N K Amin, also arrested in the case, told the court, "that a police-politician-criminal nexus was in operation in the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case".[9] The high level of direct communication from Amit Shah, as minister, to an on-duty officer has also been questioned in court.[10]

In the Tulsiram Prajapati case, the encounter killing took place in Banaskantha district. Just 13 days earlier, Vanzara was surprisingly transferred there as DIG Border range. On questioning, Amit Shah could not remember why.[11] Shah has been indicted as the "kingpin and prime accused"[12] in the Tulsiram Prajapati murder case.

Vanzara's letter also refers to political mileage obtained from the killings. In the 2007 elections, Modi had asked the electorate as to what was to be done with people like Sohrabuddin, to thunderous responses of "Kill him!".[13]

In September 2013, after six years in prison, Vanzara, who calls himself a "nationalist Hindu"[14] and looks upon Narendra Modi as "god",[15] has become disgruntled. He is said to have suggested a connection between the Sohrabuddin Sheikh case and the unsolved murder of ex-BJP minister Haren Pandya,[16] who at one time a minister under Narendra Modi. Pandya was shot dead while out on a morning walk in March 2003, a year after his fallout with Modi. In 2003, it was Vanzara who had originally investigated the Pandya murder.[17] Similar claims have also been made by the DNA newspaper,[18] which has suggested that Sheikh was eliminated because of his links to the political murder of Pandya.

Vanzara was released on bail on 18 February 2015.[19] He was acquitted in Sohrabuddin case in August 2017, due to lack of evidence.[4]

References

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  1. ^ Service, Express News (February 26, 2020). "*Former IPS officer DG Vanzara gets post-retirement promotion by Gujarat govt*". The Indian Express. p. 1. Retrieved November 9, 2022.
  2. ^ Subhash Gatade (September 21, 2013). "Modi's 'Vanzara' Moment: Encounter Killings as State Policy". Mainstream.
  3. ^ "Who is DG Vanzara?". NDTV. August 2, 2010.
  4. ^ a b "DG Vanzara discharged: Former Gujarat cop cleared in Sohrabuddin fake encounter case due to lack of evidence". Firstpost. 2017-08-02. Archived from the original on 2017-08-02. Retrieved 2017-08-02.
  5. ^ "Tehelka - the People's Paper". Archived from the original on 2013-07-10. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  6. ^ Ashish Khetan and Harinder Baweja (2007-05-12). "Death by Firing Squad". Tehelka. Archived from the original on 2012-05-11. Retrieved 2013-10-03.
  7. ^ a b "Excerpts from Vanzara's letter: Modi was my god". 4 September 2013.
  8. ^ Premal Balan (September 6, 2013). "Newsmaker: Dahyabhai Gobarji Vanzara supercop's resentment explodes". Business Standard.
  9. ^ Lyla Bavadam (2010-10-08). "Dreaded group". Frontline.
  10. ^ "If police control and command were not violated, Amit Shah would not be in this mess". rediff.com. July 23, 2010.
  11. ^ Vinay Kumar (January 10, 2012). "CBI to question Amit Shah again in Prajapati case". The Hindu.
  12. ^ "Tulsiram Prajapati encounter: CBI names Amit Shah as kingpin". 18 September 2012.
  13. ^ "Modi justifies Sohrabuddin's encounter". rediff.com. December 5, 2007.Snippet:Addressing an election meeting at Mangrol in South Gujarat yesterday, Modi questioned the crowd as to what should have been done to a man who dealt with illegal arms and ammunition, to which it shouted back "kill him".
  14. ^ "䅨浥摡扡搠䵩牲潲". Archived from the original on 2014-06-06. Retrieved 2013-10-04.
  15. ^ PTI (Sep 3, 2013). "DG Vanzara on Narendra Modi: My 'god' has betrayed me". The Times of India. Archived from the original on September 5, 2013.
  16. ^ "DG Vanzara sings about Haren Pandya murder, says it was political conspiracy: CBI". The Times of India. September 21, 2013. Archived from the original on September 24, 2013. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  17. ^ Vinod K Jose (March 2012). "The Emperor Uncrowned : The rise of Narendra Modi". Caravan magazine. Archived from the original on 2013-10-01. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  18. ^ "Was it Tulsiram Prajapati who killed Haren Pandya?". DNA (newspaper). August 30, 2011. Retrieved 2013-09-30.
  19. ^ Shaikh, Sarfaraz (2015-02-18). "Ache din are back: Vanzara after release". The Times of India. Retrieved 2015-05-15.
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