4 in Yunus case may be let off

CID fails to gather enough evidence to prosecute the police officers

MUMBAI: Relief may be at hand for four of the 14 police officials accused of involvement in the Khwaja Yunus custodial death case, as the Maharashtra Crime Investigation Department (CID)-initiated probe has not been able to gather credible evidence against them. Yunus, a software engineer who was last lodged in the Powai unit of the CID on January 6, 2003, went missing the following day. CID investigations indicated he was murdered in police custody.

A senior CID official told DNA: “We have not been able to establish evidence regarding the involvement of four officials, except for the statements made by another co-accused, Abdul Mateen, who later amended them.” When contacted, Maharashtra’s director general of police, PS Pasricha, told DNA: “We have submitted our report to the Bombay High Court, but I cannot share details.” Additional director general of the state CID, SPS Yadav, also declined to comment.

But another official confirmed that no evidence had been found against senior police inspector Praful Bhosale, and sub-inspectors Hemant Desai, Ashok Khot and Rajendra Vanmane. He added that it was unlikely that all the 14 officers booked in the case were simultaneously assaulting Yunus, resulting in his death. He also said that the CID had focused on first establishing whether Yunus had escaped from custody. “Now that aspect has been clarified and the court in Parner has deemed it false.

Yunus’s brother-in-law, Laeequddin Sayed, said: “The CID probe may have established that some police officials were not involved in the killing of Yunus, but what about the conspiracy to hush up his death. Moreover, it would not be restricted to a junior level to cover up such a death. Surely senior officials must have been consulted. This means that officials from the entire Powai unit should be booked for conspiracy to cover up.”