Agnelo Valdaris custodial death case: Witnesses tell CBI about 'sexual abuse and torture' by cops

In 2014, the case of 25-year-old Agnelo Valdaris brought the Mumbai Police under immense scrutiny, when officers handling Valdaris and the three others in a case of theft were accused of brutally torturing Valdaris, and subsequently (allegedly) causing his death while in custody. Witnesses in the case have now made their statements to CBI about the alleged torture by the police and how Valdaris was killed. [caption id=“attachment_3218000” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Agnelo Valdaris. Wikimedia Commons[/caption] In December, the CBI charged three policemen from the Wadala Government Railway Police under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, but The Indian Express reported that murder charges were not brought on. The report said that CBI’s chargesheet in the custodial death case claims that the torture inflicted on Valdaris led to his subsequent death. The police, however, maintains that he was run over by a train during his attempt to flee. According to the statements made to CBI by the witnesses, on 16 and 17 April, Valadaris and three others (including a minor) were picked up by the Wadala GRP in connection with a case of theft of gold ornament — a gold chain worth Rs 60,000 that was allegedly stolen from a senior citizen. In their initial complaints, reported by Mid-Day, the witnesses said that constables Mane and Kamble stripped them and assaulted them with a belt and a baton. One of the witnesses was asked to perform oral sex on Valdaris and the minor, threatened by the cops and the witness did as asked. One of the witnesses also said that a lathi (police baton) was inserted in his anus, they were tied to an ‘iron rod’, tortured and beaten brutally. The officer had also threatened to pour petrol in his anus. The Times of India also reported that Valdaris repeatedly sought medical help but he didn’t receive any and a woman officer told him: “Tu tadap tadap kar mar…(You will suffer and die).” A witness stated that Valdaris couldn’t have run because he was badly beaten and that he was unable to even walk.