Ghatkopar blast case: Trial begins in Khwaja Yunus ‘custodial death’

The deposition, however, was deferred after the defence lawyer for accused assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze informed the court regarding a 2012 order. The court was told that the order stated that a case diary maintained by the state CID was to be produced and the order is yet to be complied with. The court adjourned the deposition directing the diary to be produced before court on the next date.

The prosecution informed the court that both the men, who had been picked up by the police along with Yunus, were present to depose as witnesses.

Over the past few months, the case has seen multiple adjournments. In February, the court had imposed a fine of Rs 1,500 to be paid to the witness towards travel expenses for seeking an exemption from appearance.

On Tuesday too, the court directed that one of the witnesses be paid Rs 2,000 while granting adjournment on the accused’s plea. The witness informed the court that he had travelled to Mumbai from Aurangabad for the fifth time in the past few months for deposing.

During a previous hearing, the court was informed of a revision appeal pending before the Bombay High Court on the charges framed against the four policemen. A petition filed by Yunus’s mother, seeking sanction against 10 other policemen who had also been indicted in an inquiry, is also pending before the Supreme Court. The court, however, said that since no stay is granted on the proceedings, the court will continue to commence with the trial.

Yunus, a software engineer, was picked up for interrogation in connection with a bomb blast in a BEST bus in Ghatkopar and allegedly tortured to death in 2003. The accused policemen claimed that Yunus had escaped from the police custody. The claim was refuted by the state CID, which booked them for charges, including murder, destruction of evidence and criminal conspiracy.