Hari Masjid case to be transferred to CBI

Mumbai, Feb 6 (UNI) The Maharashtra Government today assured the Bombay High Court that all formalities required to hand over the Hari Masjid police firing case of January 1993 to CBI for investigation would be completed by Friday even as the judges maintained their tough stand on the issue.

Additional Solicitor General Rajendra Raghuvanshi today produced notifications, persuant to sections 3 and 5 of Delhi Special Police Establishments Act, before a division bench comprising Justices S B Mhase and V K Tahilramani. The court then directed the state Government to issue notification under section 6, according its consent as the last formality required to handover Hari Masjid police firing case to CBI by Friday.

Mr Raghuvanshi clarified that the Central agency would conduct only an ''enquiry'' and not ''investigation'', as there was no FIR registered.

Farooq Mapkar, a victim of the police firing, had moved high court seeking CBI probe into the incident, where police party led by then police sub-inspector Nikhil Kapse had allegedly opened fire on Namazis assembled in Hari Masjid. Seven persons had died and seven others were injured in the January 10, 1993 police firing.

Kapse has been indicted by Justice Srikrishna Commission, which enquired into 1992-93 communal riots in Mumbai, for ''unprovoked'' police firing in Hari Masjid. Justice Srikrishna Commission had observed in its report that ''the police version of the story was totally unbelievable and fabricated'' and also that, ''PSI Kapse - presently working with the economic offences wing of the Mumbai police - not only suppressed facts but also fabricated records''. Despite clear finding and recomendations of strong action against Kapse, no action was taken against him.

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