Mumbai, Feb 20: The Bombay High Court today directed the state
CID to submit its report by February 24 on the alleged escape of
Ghatkopar blast accused Khwaja Yunus a year ago.
A division bench of Justice Mohammed Shafi Parkar and Justice
Vijay Kapse Tahilramani gave the order in response to a habeas
corpus petition filed by Yunus's father Sahed Khwaja Ayub, praying
for a direction to produce his son dead or alive in court and a CBI
inquiry into the episode besides compensation of Rs 10 lakh till his
whereabouts are known.
Additional government pleader B R Patil along with advocate
Poornima Kantariya, opposed the CBI inquiry on the grounds that the
CID had been investigating the disapparance from august last year
and the court should not pass any order till it had submitted its
final report.
While opposing the CBI inquiry, the state government submitted
that CID was an independent agency, which was conducting a
day-to-day inquiry and therefore there was no need for a CBI probe.
Yunus, booked for the December 2, 2002 Ghatkopar blast, allegedly
escaped from police custody on January 7, 2003 when a vehicle in
which he was being taken to Aurangabad, met with an accident. A
co-accused had alleged that he was tortured in police custody and
might have died.
Bureau Report
