“We received a tip-off that Patel was in the court premises,” said an SIT officer.

Eleven people were hacked to death and their bodies burnt near Deepda Darwaza area in Visnagar town in Mehsana district on February 28, 2002, the day the Vishwa Hindu Parishad had observed a bandh.

Visnagar case is one of the nine most heinous riot cases being reinvestigated by the SIT.

The body has till now arrested three persons in connection with the case. Patel, who was an inspector in Visnagar in 2002, has been arrested on charges of dereliction of duty, destruction of evidence and improper probe, the SIT said.

Earlier in 2005, the state Criminal Investigation Department (CID) had arrested Patel on charges of murder and destruction of evidence of a case (number 2/05 of Unjha police station) at Unjha in Mehsana, the same year.