The Bombay High Court yesterday asked the state government to inform it in two weeks how 13 witnesses in a case of custodial death had gone missing since September 2010, failing which it would order the state DGP or other competent authority to conduct a judicial probe
The Bombay High Court yesterday asked the state government to inform it in two weeks how 13 witnesses in a case of custodial death had gone missing since September 2010, failing which it would order the state DGP or other competent authority to conduct a judicial probe.
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The direction was given by a bench headed by Justice Abhay Oka, which pulled up the state and jail authorities for their stand that the witnesses in this case were not traceable since last six years.
A PIL alleged that an attempt was being made to hush up the case and this explains why 13 witnesses have gone missing. The PIL deals with the death of undertrial Robert Almeida, who died in Thane prison in 1997. Police report claimed that he was mentally ill, and “injured himself”.
“Of the 13 witnesses, six have seen the death of the victim in jail. How can all the 13 witnesses go missing and remain untraceable?” the PIL asked. A report on this was sent to the state government, which said that this was a subject matter of a judicial inquiry.
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