HC lets off 10 cops in Khwaja Yunus custodial death case

Mumbai: In a relief to ten police officers, the Bombay High Court today rejected a plea to prosecute them for the custodial death of POTA detainee Khwaja Yunus in 2003, but increased by Rs 17 lakh the compensation amount to be given to his mother Aasiya Begum. Hearing a petition filed by Khwaja’s mother, Justice AM Khanvilkar and Justice PD Kode turned down her plea seeking prosecution of ten police officers, who were let off by Maharashtra government in the case of the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus. [caption id=“attachment_271501” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“The high court had said the compensation paid to Yunus’ mother should be increased to Rs 17 lakh. Reuters”]  [/caption] However, the judges said they were inclined to grant Rs 20 lakh compensation to the victim’s mother, an increase of Rs 17 lakh from the meagre amount awarded by the lower court. Aasia Begum had filed a petition seeking adequate compensation from the state government and demanding trial of police officers, who were allegedly responsible for her son’s death in custody. Her lawyer Mihir Desai said in cases of custodial death, it is very difficult to get witnesses or collect evidence. Desai said it was for the court to decide whether the statement of the eyewitness was credible enough to result in conviction. Desai pointed out that police officers had lied about them being elsewhere when Yunus was allegedly beaten to death in custody and it had been proved by their cell phone records. At present, only four policemen – API Sachin Vaze and constables Rajendra Tiwari, Rajaram Nikam and Vasant Desai – are facing trial on charges of murder of Yunus and destruction of evidence. The government had earlier refused sanction to prosecute 10 other police officers. Yunus, a software engineer working in a Dubai-based company, was arrested by police for his alleged involvement in a bomb blast in a BEST bus outside suburban Ghatkopar station on 2 December 2002. In January 2003, police claimed that he escaped while being taken to Aurangabad when the police jeep met with an accident. But a CID probe indicated that this was a “false story” and Yunus had died in police custody. PTI