2006 Mumbai Train Blasts: Mystery Of ATS Officer Vinod Bhatt's Death Resurfaces After HC Acquittals

A highly grim aspect of the investigation into the 2006 serial bomb blasts is the alleged suicide of assistant commissioner of police Vinod Bhatt who was a part of the Anti Terrorism Squad. On the night of August 28, 2006,  Bhat (54), who was a part of the ATS team which was probing the serial blasts,  completed his work for the day at the ATS head office in Byculla and asked his driver to take out his official vehicle. He was residing near Kirti College, Dadar. 

When the vehicle was crossing Tilak Bridge, Dadar, around 9 p.m.  he asked his driver to stop. He handed over all his personal belongings except for his identity card to the driver and asked him to hand them over to his wife Seema. A few minutes later he reportedly walked along the railway tracks and he was crushed under the wheels of a fast local train. The entire police was stunned when news of his alleged suicide spread like wildfire. His family was in a state of shock. 

Bhat was known to be an upright and competent officer. The reason for his action remains a mystery till date. 

However, there was speculation that he was being pressured by his senior colleagues in the ATS to do certain things vis a vis the blast probe which he refused to do. Apparently this created tremendous tension for him. Unable to bear the intense pressure he reportedly preferred to  end his life rather than do anything illegal in connection with the blast investigation.  

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Bhat was also reportedly upset by the inclusion of his wife's name in an FIR registered at Santa Cruz police station in connection with a police housing scheme despite the fact that she was innocent. The Santa Cruz police was allegedly under pressure from certain persons to arrest her.

Till date his death is wrapped in a deep mystery. With the Bombay high court acquitting the 12 accused in the blast case and slamming the ATS for using torture to extract  confessions from the accused, the spotlight has once again been turned on the strange death of Bhat. The then chief of the ATS K.P. Raghuvanshi had denied the allegation that Bhat was being forced to do something illegal. As for the alleged suicide, he said that was being probed by the railway police.