HC summons CID report on police officers in Khawja Yunus case

Mumbai, Aug 7 (UNI) The Bombay High Court today directed the Maharashtra government to produce on August 13 the record regarding why no action was initiated against 10 more police personnel indicted in the report of state CID, which had probed the custodial death of a POTA detenue and Ghatkopar blast accused, Khwaja Yunus.

A division bench comprising of Justices Bilal Nazki and A Kumbhkoni, while directing the state to produce the record, adjourned the further hearing till August 13.

The state CID, which had conducted a probe in this matter on the directive of the High Court, had named 14 police personel but only four police officers -- senior inspector Praful Bhosale, assistant police inspectors Sachin Vaze and Hemant Desai and inspector Rajaram Vhanmane -- were arrested by CID, who were later released by the local court.

However, Assiatant Police Commissioner of Police Ambadas Pote and others were not arrested.

Yunus, arrested after the December 2002 blast in suburban Ghatkopar, disappeared from custody in the first week of January, 2003. Police said he disappeared while being taken to Aurangabad.

However, the co-accused in the case alleged that Yunus was tortured to death during custodial interrogation.

In September, a magesterial court at Parner had held that the complaint filed by the police that Yunus escaped after the jeep taking him to Aurangabad met with an accident near Parner was 'false and malicious'.

Khwajas' mother, Asiya Begum, had moved the High Court, seeking a CBI probe but the matter was handed over to state CID, which probed his disappearance and concluded that he died in custody.

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