Asaram’s arrest was the last straw for Vanzara
The Gujarat top cop in jail for a string of fake encounters feels Narendra Modi abandoned him
Deepal Trivedi, Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, September 04, 2013
Deepal Trivedi, Yogesh Avasthi
Posted On Wednesday, September 04, 2013
(http://www.ahmedabadmirror.com/article/2/2013090420130904030303562a3d65975/Asaram%E2%80%99s-arrest-was-the-last-straw-for-Vanzara.html)
The arrest of self-styled godman Asaram may have been the proverbial last straw for Gujarat top-cop D G Vanzara, who sent in his resignation letter from the Indian Police Service on Tuesday and in an angry letter accused Chief Minister Narendra Modi of using him. Vanzara, who has spent more than six years in jail along with 32 other police officers for a string of extra-judicial killings, told a close relative that the arrest of Asaram, who he considers his guru, left him devastated.
“My god could not save my guru. How will he save me,” he is reported to have asked this relative. The ‘god’ here being a reference to Modi. Vanzara, who called himself a ‘nationalist Hindu’ just like his ‘god’ and who never concealed the fact he used extra-judicial methods to eliminate terrorists, had told this correspondent a few months before being transferred to a jail in Mumbai that his actions were guided by 'desh bhakti'.
"This is no prison. Prison is in your mind. I do not mind spending my life in jail. These encounters were not a crime. Silence against jihad is a crime. This is desh bhakti for me," he had said. Even in his 10- page resignation letter, Vanzara has said, "I can say with pride that I and my officers are singularly responsible in not only ensuring that Gujarat does not become Kashmir but provided a solid atmosphere for durable peace that elevated the image of the (Narendra Modi) government… I state with humility that if had not been the sacrifices made by me and my officers in thwarting onslaught of initial disorder, this model of Gujarat which the government is now so assiduously showcasing at national level would not have been possible."
SENIOR MOST COP
The super confident Vanzara who did not mind "sacrificing his whole life" for Gujarat and his desh bhakti is the senior most among the police officers being tried for a series of fake encounters. But he seems to have lost all hope after Asaram's arrest on charge of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in his ashram. "Saheb (Vanzara) was patient for nearly seven years. He was moved to the Taloja jail because of dirty politics.
And then Asaram Bapu, who for last seven years has been Saheb's strength, was arrested. Saheb was confident that his god (Modi) would save his guru. But now he is a broken man," a family source told Mirror in Ahmedebad. Vanzara's association with Asaram is about two-decade old. A policeman, who has worked as a constable with Vanzara, said, "Even when Vanzara was posted as border range police head in Banaskantha district, he would insist that his milk must come from the gaushala at Asaram's ashram in Ahmedabad."
The distance between Banaskantha and Ahmedabad is about 139 km. Vanzara insisted on drinking the milk sourced from Asaram's ashram at Motera in Ahmedabad because he considered it guru prasad. During his time in prison, Vanzara wrote at least two dozen poems dedicated to Asaram. One poem penned on Guru Purnima on July 7, 2007 from Sabarmati Central Jail goes: 'I have cleaned up not only just my prison cell today, but my soul too. For, today people have gathered at Motera to seek his blessings.
Everybody is singing my guru's praises. It is because of him that there is so much of sunshine in my life, soul and even this cell." Asaram's Ahmedabad ashram is located in Motera. According to Vanzara's family, he was disappointed when former junior home minister Amit Shah ignored nearly two dozen-odd policemen who are in jail in connection with the fake encounters but made sure he himself got out. Shah, Modi's close confidant, is now in charge of BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Modi himself is preparing for the biggest battle of his political life with the PM's post as his target. While Vanzara felt let down by Shah and Modi, Asaram gave him strength.
Additional DGP P P Pandey's arrest demoralised him because he felt Pandey deserved better support from Modi government. After Pandey was arrested, Vanzara felt that just to get free, Amit Shah had put all officers in trouble. There is enough evidence that Vanzara and Amit were in touch before and after the fake encounters. Vanzara writes in his letter, "The (Modi) government miserably failed in protecting its loyal soldiers…CBI has arrested me and my men for Sohrab, Tulsi and Ishrat encounters but we have simply implemented the conscious policy of this government which was inspiring, guiding and monitoring our actions from very close quarters."
This is the first time Vanzara has blamed the government and thereby given credence to CBI investigation that Shah was actively involved in conceiving, planning and executing the fake encounters. However, Vanzara felt that he was used by the Modi government and then dumped "after I and my men outlived our utility". Amid all this frustration, the only thing that kept Vanzara going was Asaram. Sources said Vanzara regularly spoke to Asaram over the telephone from the Sabarmati jail. However, this connection snapped once Vanzara was moved to Taloja in Mumbai. While Vanzara was treated like a VIP in Ahmedabad jail, the harsh reality of Taloja crushed his spirit. His family believes that Modi and Shah could have prevented his transfer to Taloja, but they did nothing. One of the privileges he missed the most was the milk from Asaram's ashram. In one of his applications in a Mumbai court Vanzara bitterly complained about the quality of milk served to him.
DID VANZARA KIN APPROACH CONG ?
Did a member of suspended DIG D G Vanzara’s family approach state Congress leaders before he dropped the proverbial bomb by sending a letter to the home department? Top sources told Mirror that a family member of suspended DIG D G Vanzara approached three Congress leaders, seeking their support for Vanzara before he resigned. However, the Congress leaders did not entertain him as they suspected they would be unwitting victims of a sting operation by a family member of the cop who has been very loyal to the chief minister.
With 2014 general elections next year, Congress leaders are wary of any political manoeuvre that can provide ammunition to the BJP to score political points over them. It is obvious that Vanzara -- after submitting the 10- page letter claiming he and his policemen were mere executors of instructions given by top political bosses – will try and gain political support from the Congress. However, State Congress president Arjun Modhwadia denied that Vanzara’s family had approached the Congress leadership. “No one has approached the party in the past several years that Vanzara has been in prison,” he said.
The arrest of self-styled godman Asaram may have been the proverbial last straw for Gujarat top-cop D G Vanzara, who sent in his resignation letter from the Indian Police Service on Tuesday and in an angry letter accused Chief Minister Narendra Modi of using him. Vanzara, who has spent more than six years in jail along with 32 other police officers for a string of extra-judicial killings, told a close relative that the arrest of Asaram, who he considers his guru, left him devastated.
“My god could not save my guru. How will he save me,” he is reported to have asked this relative. The ‘god’ here being a reference to Modi. Vanzara, who called himself a ‘nationalist Hindu’ just like his ‘god’ and who never concealed the fact he used extra-judicial methods to eliminate terrorists, had told this correspondent a few months before being transferred to a jail in Mumbai that his actions were guided by 'desh bhakti'.
"This is no prison. Prison is in your mind. I do not mind spending my life in jail. These encounters were not a crime. Silence against jihad is a crime. This is desh bhakti for me," he had said. Even in his 10- page resignation letter, Vanzara has said, "I can say with pride that I and my officers are singularly responsible in not only ensuring that Gujarat does not become Kashmir but provided a solid atmosphere for durable peace that elevated the image of the (Narendra Modi) government… I state with humility that if had not been the sacrifices made by me and my officers in thwarting onslaught of initial disorder, this model of Gujarat which the government is now so assiduously showcasing at national level would not have been possible."
SENIOR MOST COP
The super confident Vanzara who did not mind "sacrificing his whole life" for Gujarat and his desh bhakti is the senior most among the police officers being tried for a series of fake encounters. But he seems to have lost all hope after Asaram's arrest on charge of sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl in his ashram. "Saheb (Vanzara) was patient for nearly seven years. He was moved to the Taloja jail because of dirty politics.
And then Asaram Bapu, who for last seven years has been Saheb's strength, was arrested. Saheb was confident that his god (Modi) would save his guru. But now he is a broken man," a family source told Mirror in Ahmedebad. Vanzara's association with Asaram is about two-decade old. A policeman, who has worked as a constable with Vanzara, said, "Even when Vanzara was posted as border range police head in Banaskantha district, he would insist that his milk must come from the gaushala at Asaram's ashram in Ahmedabad."
The distance between Banaskantha and Ahmedabad is about 139 km. Vanzara insisted on drinking the milk sourced from Asaram's ashram at Motera in Ahmedabad because he considered it guru prasad. During his time in prison, Vanzara wrote at least two dozen poems dedicated to Asaram. One poem penned on Guru Purnima on July 7, 2007 from Sabarmati Central Jail goes: 'I have cleaned up not only just my prison cell today, but my soul too. For, today people have gathered at Motera to seek his blessings.
Everybody is singing my guru's praises. It is because of him that there is so much of sunshine in my life, soul and even this cell." Asaram's Ahmedabad ashram is located in Motera. According to Vanzara's family, he was disappointed when former junior home minister Amit Shah ignored nearly two dozen-odd policemen who are in jail in connection with the fake encounters but made sure he himself got out. Shah, Modi's close confidant, is now in charge of BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Modi himself is preparing for the biggest battle of his political life with the PM's post as his target. While Vanzara felt let down by Shah and Modi, Asaram gave him strength.
Additional DGP P P Pandey's arrest demoralised him because he felt Pandey deserved better support from Modi government. After Pandey was arrested, Vanzara felt that just to get free, Amit Shah had put all officers in trouble. There is enough evidence that Vanzara and Amit were in touch before and after the fake encounters. Vanzara writes in his letter, "The (Modi) government miserably failed in protecting its loyal soldiers…CBI has arrested me and my men for Sohrab, Tulsi and Ishrat encounters but we have simply implemented the conscious policy of this government which was inspiring, guiding and monitoring our actions from very close quarters."
This is the first time Vanzara has blamed the government and thereby given credence to CBI investigation that Shah was actively involved in conceiving, planning and executing the fake encounters. However, Vanzara felt that he was used by the Modi government and then dumped "after I and my men outlived our utility". Amid all this frustration, the only thing that kept Vanzara going was Asaram. Sources said Vanzara regularly spoke to Asaram over the telephone from the Sabarmati jail. However, this connection snapped once Vanzara was moved to Taloja in Mumbai. While Vanzara was treated like a VIP in Ahmedabad jail, the harsh reality of Taloja crushed his spirit. His family believes that Modi and Shah could have prevented his transfer to Taloja, but they did nothing. One of the privileges he missed the most was the milk from Asaram's ashram. In one of his applications in a Mumbai court Vanzara bitterly complained about the quality of milk served to him.
DID VANZARA KIN APPROACH CONG ?
Did a member of suspended DIG D G Vanzara’s family approach state Congress leaders before he dropped the proverbial bomb by sending a letter to the home department? Top sources told Mirror that a family member of suspended DIG D G Vanzara approached three Congress leaders, seeking their support for Vanzara before he resigned. However, the Congress leaders did not entertain him as they suspected they would be unwitting victims of a sting operation by a family member of the cop who has been very loyal to the chief minister.
With 2014 general elections next year, Congress leaders are wary of any political manoeuvre that can provide ammunition to the BJP to score political points over them. It is obvious that Vanzara -- after submitting the 10- page letter claiming he and his policemen were mere executors of instructions given by top political bosses – will try and gain political support from the Congress. However, State Congress president Arjun Modhwadia denied that Vanzara’s family had approached the Congress leadership. “No one has approached the party in the past several years that Vanzara has been in prison,” he said.
