Vanzara could alone have helped him reign as the "Hindu hriday samrat" that he loves to call himself. Police records say, there have been as many as 14 encounter deaths in the state in the last five years and of these, Vanzara - a Gujarat cadre IPS officer - was directly involved in 10. All these encounters were carried out during his reign as heads of the Ahmedabad city crime branch and the anti-terrorist squad. The last encounter was that of Tulsi Prajapati, the sole eyewitness in Sohrabuddin case.
Apart from this, there have been numerous seizures of bombs and arms and ammunition and arrests of at least 50 people on suspicion of terrorist links. Most of these encounters, including that of Sohrabuddin, were described by Vanzara in elaborate press conferences as "major breakthroughs". Those killed or arrested were portrayed as hardened terrorists who plotted to kill Modi and spread a reign of terror in Gujarat.
But, since Vanzara's arrest on April 24 this year, there has not been a single encounter nor has any conspiracy come to light. Shorn of Vanzara, the once dreaded ATS is having a peaceful existence. Police sources say, the fate of Vanzara, once a high-flying police officer, has had other top policemen develop cold feet in indulging in such heroics.
