Khwaja Yunus custodial death case: Court issues notice to investigating officer

The sessions court on Monday came down heavily on the investigating officer of the custodial death of Khwaja Yunus, an accused in the 2002 Ghatkopar BEST bus bomb blast case, for failing to produce witnesses to record their testimonies.

The court was furious as the officer in-charge in the case failed to submit the report of service of summons to the witnesses and also failed to produce them in the court for deposition.

Following heated arguments, chief public prosecutor Lata Chheda moved a plea to issue notice against the officer for not complying with the court order.

The court then issued a notice to the officer, saying, “It appears that the conduct of the officer for non-filing summons report issued by the court is the disobedience of the order. The record clearly indicates that the concerned police officer has not taken proper care to produce the witnesses and just wanted to prolong the matter anyhow. This type of conduct should not be tolerated by the court.”

The court in its last order had directed the prosecution to bring more witnesses and resume the trial.

The prosecution had also submitted that they would bring four witnesses and the court had accordingly issued summons to them.

However, when the case was called out for hearing on Monday, the investigating officer neither kept witnesses ready for deposition, nor submitted the report, indicating that summons issued by the court were not duly served. The court also directed that a copy of the notice be sent to the investigating officer’s superior and the city police commissioner so that they can take action against him.