Khwaja Yunus case: Deceased’s mother seeks prosecution of 4 cops

Asiya Begum, the mother of the deceased, has also moved the court opposing the move and seeking to prosecute the four officers.

Mumbai: The sessions court on Thursday reserved order on the prosecution’s plea to withdraw an application made by them in February 2018 to add encounter specialist Praful Bhosle and three other police officers as accused in the Khwaja Yunus murder case. Asiya Begum, the mother of the deceased, has also moved the court opposing the move and seeking to prosecute the four officers.

On Thursday, advocate Chetan Mali, who represents the Yunus family, urged the court to not allow the withdrawal of the application. (HT)

On Thursday, advocate Chetan Mali, who represents the Yunus family, urged the court to not allow the withdrawal of the application. “The State in its Application has specifically stated that it is well settled law that beating or assaulting a suspect during interrogation for investigation of any case, viz. use of physical violence (also known as third degree methods) was not a part of either actual or purported discharge of duty of any police officer and cannot be reasonably claimed by any such officer as an act done under colour of office,” said the plea filed by Asiya Begum.

“The acts (allegedly attributed to the police officers) viz. stripping Yunus to his underwear, tying his hands behind his back, whipping him with a belt, slapping and kicking him on his chest and abdomen, ascribed by PW 1 (Dr Mateen) in his evidence, to the 4 police officers he has named, cannot and do not in any view of the matter, fall within the ambit of the phrase actual or purported discharge of duty,” Asiya’s application added.

The prosecution on the other hand said that the issue of prosecuting these four officers is pending with the Supreme Court and once the apex court decides on that, the prosecution would be in a position to take further course of action.

Opposing Asiya’s plea, the prosecution contended that she had no locus to file the application. “The mother of the victim at the most can assist the prosecution and can file any application only through the prosecution,” it contended.

The plea was also opposed by the lawyer of the four officers, advocate Subhash Jha, who said that the police officers risk their lives to catch dreaded criminals and terrorists. He termed Yunus and Dr Mateen as members of a banned terrorist organisation and claimed that their manual directs them to involve as many government officials as possible.

In February 2018, the former special prosecutor in the case had moved a plea before the special court to summon the four officers -- Bhosale, Hemant Desai, Rajaram Vhanmane and Ashok Khot to face the trial in the case. The plea was moved after the prosecution examined Dr Abdul Mateen, a key witness in the murder case had mentioned the names of the four officers.

Yunus, a software engineer working in Dubai, was picked up by the Mumbai police crime branch from Parbhani in Marathwada in December 2002, in connection with the bomb blast in a BEST bus outside Ghatkopar railway station which killed two people and injured 50 others.

The prosecution alleged that Yunus was tortured in jail and this led to his death in custody. The police team, which had arrested Yunus, claimed he had escaped after the vehicle in which he was being taken to Aurangabad met with an accident in Ahmednagar district in January 2003.

A case was registered in connection with the custodial death, after it became clear that the accident story was cooked up and entrusted to the State CID in March 2003, and the CID filed the charge sheet against 14 officials but the state did not grant sanction to prosecute 10 of them. This has been challenged by Asiya Begum and the matter is now pending before the Supreme Court.

Presently, four police personnel, including dismissed assistant inspector Sachin Vaze (the prime accused in the Antilia explosives scare and connected murder of Mansukh Hiran), and three constables are facing trial for killing Khwaja while in their custody.