Khwaja Yunus death: Proceed with case daily, court tells CID

Khwaja Yunus (Files)

IN THE 2003 custodial death case of Khwaja Yunus, a 27-year-old software engineer from Parbhani, the court has directed the CID to ‘take immediate action’ to proceed with the case on a daily basis. Rapping the police for not bringing witnesses before the court, the court on Tuesday morning directed the assistant police inspector, Ghatkopar division and the senior police inspector, Ghatkopar police station to appear before it. In the presence of the ACP and a police inspector in the afternoon, the court said that the case has been pending for long and steps should be taken to ensure that witnesses are brought for recording of evidence.

The court was informed that after the tenure of the chief public prosecutor, Lata Chheda, ended recently, the government is processing the appointment of a special public prosecutor to continue the trial. The government had removed the previous SPP, Dhiraj Mirajkar, in April. “Though the government and the prosecution are well aware that the matter is pending for so many years, yet no steps have been taken to complete the case except calling one witness so far,” said sessions Judge VS Padalkar. He said that there were delay tactics to prolong the matter. The judge also said that information regarding who will be conducting the trial should be given to the court.
Yunus was arrested by the Mumbai Police in December 2002 for his alleged role in the Ghatkopar bomb blast, which took place in the same month.

The first prosecution witness, the then co-accused of Yunus, who was subsequently acquitted, told the court that he had seen Yunus being stripped and beaten up by policemen. He had said that he had seen Yunus vomiting blood and named four policemen who, he claimed, had assaulted Yunus. Mirajkar had moved an application to make the four policemen also stand trial as accused in the case. However, before the plea could be decided, the government passed a notification cancelling his appointment.

He was the third prosecutor in the case. So far four prosecutors have been changed in the case. The court posted the case for July 2and said that the trial should be conducted on a day to day basis.