Afroz fiasco: No headway in probe yet

Afroz was detained under the IPC in December 2001. On March 2, he was slapped with charges under POTA at the instance of the then Joint Commissioner of Police Bhujangrao Mohite. Subsequently, on March 26, even as Parliament debated on POTA, the Mumbai police decided to drop the charges, much to the embarrassment of Bhujbal, who favoured the ordinance despite the fact that Congress, the main constituent of the Democratic Front, opposed it.

Bhujbal was upset over the manner in which the police booked Afroz under POTO and later dropped the charges on the grounds that it was a mistake. On March 28, he asked Basak to conduct a probe into the Afroz fiasco in a month’s time. But so far there has been no progress at all.

As per official records, the decision to book Afroz under POTO was taken by Mohite while Police Commissioner M.N. Singh was away on an assignment abroad. It is said POTO was applied to ensure he would not be released on bail. Mohite had said before taking the decision that he had consulted senior lawyer Ujwal Nikam and Bhujbal. Subsequently, both denied they had given their consent.

Bhujbal’s contention was that Mohite had approached him with a specific problem — he claimed Mohite sought information on the validity of POTO, but at no stage were the merits of the case discussed. ‘‘We had told Mohite that the vehicle (POTO) was available, but it was specifically told to him to verify the legal position before taking any decision,’’ Bhujbal had then stated.

The decision to drop charges was taken when the Police Commissioner resumed duty. Sources say a series of meetings presided over by Singh were held regarding application of POTO. When it became clear that POTO was not applicable, the charges were dropped.