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'Modi is a common criminal, he should be treated like one'

Suspended IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt, who was released on bail on Monday, called Narendra Modi "a common criminal" and said that the Gujarat chief minister needed to be treated like one.

Bhatt, who has accused Modi of complicity in the 2002 post-Godhra riots, said Modi will be brought to justice if he had any role to play in the communal violence.

'Modi is a common criminal, he should be treated like one'

"Narendra Modi may be the chief minister of Gujarat. But as far as 2002 riots are concerned, he is a criminal, he has to be treated like a common criminal and that should be his fate eventually," he told reporters after his release from Sabarmati prison.

He had been lodged at Sabarmati prison for the last 17 days.

'He will be brought to justice'

"If he (Modi) had a role to play in the 2002 riots, he will be brought to justice and all of us will do our best to achieve that. There is ample evidence against him," he said, stepping up his attack against Modi with whom he is locked in a confrontation over the riots.

"As a police officer, I see him (Modi) as a criminal and I don't have any doubts about it," he added.

When asked about harassment by policemen while in lock-up at the city Crime Branch, Bhatt said, "It is unfortunate and shameful that I also belong to the same Gujarat cadre of officers."