Khwaja Yunus ‘custodial death’: CID opposes Waze plea to turn approver, says he quizzed Yunus on day he was last seen alive
Yunus was among those arrested for probe in the 2002 Ghatkopar blast case.
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The CID has also said that Waze was making comments on the prosecutor in his plea 'which he has no right to do'. (Representational ImageOPPOSING DISMISSED cop Sachin Waze’s plea to become an approver in the alleged custodial death of 27-year-old software engineer Khwaja Yunus in 2003, the state CID (Criminal Investigation Department) said he is a main accused in the case and had interrogated Yunus on the day he was last seen alive.
Waze had last month sought to become an approver in the case, 21 years after the incident, claiming that Yunus was never handed over to him. Waze had said in his plea that he was not in the vicinity nor had he assaulted Yunus at any point.
In a plea filed by CID opposing Waze’s application to turn approver through special public prosecutor, Pradip Gharat, it has been said that statements of witnesses, including policemen, showed that Waze had interrogated Yunus on that day. “Witnesses….have stated that on January 6, 2003, the applicant/accused (Waze) has interrogated deceased Khwaja Yunus between 12.30 noon and thereafter for the whole day. Thus, this contention that he does not come in the picture till only at the stage of disappearance of the deceased, is not correct,” the CID has said.
Waze is facing charges including murder and destruction of evidence of the Indian Penal Code along with three other policemen, with the CID claiming that on January 6, 2003, they had made a false story that Yunus had escaped while being taken to Aurangabad, even though he had died in custody after being brutally assaulted.
Yunus was among those arrested for probe in the 2002 Ghatkopar blast case. Those arrested along with Yunus were all acquitted or discharged of all charges. One of them had deposed that he had seen Yunus being assaulted and him vomiting blood while at the crime branch unit on January 6, 2003.
The CID has also cited other documents including a petition filed before the High Court in 2005, where it claims that Waze had made a submission that he had reported to the crime branch on January 5, 2003 and had interrogated Yunus. It also referred to a judicial inquiry, where Waze is claimed to have said that he had taken part in the interrogation.
The CID said that in his application now, Waze is denying Yunus being handed over to him. “(This) clearly shows that the applicant/accused will not disclose the truth or any inculpatory fact appearing in the evidence against him and will try to mislead this Honourable Court…”
The CID has also said that Waze was making comments on the prosecutor in his plea ‘which he has no right to do’. Further, the CID has also said that Waze is in custody in other ‘sensitive’ cases, including the alleged murder of Thane-resident Mansukh Hiran and the Antilia terror. The court will now decide on the plea.
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