Yunus case: HC closes Vaze FIR

The Bombay High Court today directed the POTA special judge to ‘‘apply his mind’’ and initiate action against police officials who misled the court by supporting a false FIR filed by Assistant Police Inspector Sachin Vaze in the Khwaja Yunus case. The order came after the police received flak for their handling of the case.

A division bench of Justice S. Radhakrishnan and Justice R.S. Mohite also ordered the State CID to close Vaze’s FIR as investigations had found the complaint to be false. The bench further directed the CID to treat blast co-accused Dr Abdul Mateen’s statement as the FIR in the case.

The CID will proceed with the investigations on the basis of the court order, charging Vaze under Section 302 of IPC for murder. Mateen’s statement had been recorded in front of the POTA court and confirmed by the CID. The court also said the investigation will focus on January 6, the day Yunus was allegedly assaulted in custody, and not January 7, when he allegedly ran away.