Khwaja Yunus case: Cops oppose plea to make them accused

Four police officials, who were named by the witness for allegedly assaulting Khwaja Yunus to the extent of him having vomited blood, moved an application to reject the prosecution's plea of making them accused in the case on Monday.

The application says that the prosecution's plea is devoid of any merits and substance and is interfering with the administration of justice and pleaded the Session Court dismiss the same.

The witness in his statement had said that he saw inspector Praful Bhosle, sub-inspector Hemant Desai, sub-inspector Ashok Khot, and additional police inspector Rajaram Vhanamane from the Ghatkopar crime investigation department, slap and punch Khwaja in the stomach. The assault was so severe that he had started vomiting blood.

A murder case was registered against the Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze and three personnel, Rajendra Tiwari, Rajaram Nikam and Sunil Desai for allegedly conspiring the murder of Khwaja and later destroying evidence.

Khwaja, a software engineer working in Dubai, was picked up from Parbhani in Marathwada in December 2002 in connection with the Ghatkopar blast case. Police claimed that he escaped after the vehicle in which he was being taken met with an accident near Aurangabad in January 2003. But the co-accused in the case, Dr Abdul Mateen, claimed that Yunus died of custodial torture.