10 April,2011 06:34 AM IST | | Ketan Ranga
Three friends of the Vada Pav seller from Chembur who was allegedly beaten to death by cops are too scared to testify against the police; victim's family wants them to lodge a complaint
Two days after Sachin Khopkar, a Vada Pav seller from Chembur, was allegedly beaten to death by police constables, his friends who witnessed the incident find themselves in a dilemma. Although they are angry at the police brutality, they are afraid of police retribution. Meanwhile, Khopkar's family is livid that the boys didn't inform them of his death till the next morning, and expect them to lodge a police complaint to bring the culprits to book.
Sayyed Sadam (25), Avinash Waghsawre (21) and Swapnil Peter (22) were standing with Khopkar under their MHADA colony building at RCF at 12.30 am on Friday, when two beat constables on the night round approached them, asking them to clear the area. They allegedly began slapping the boys. The three left immediately. Khopkar, who stayed back, was beaten unconscious. Sadam, who hid close by, saw a police van take away Khopkar's lifeless body at 1.30 am.
Fearing the police, the boys narrated the incident to Khopkar's family in the morning, only after his mother and older brother Naresh began making enquiries about him. Naresh is livid with the trio; he feels his brother's life could have been saved if they had called him immediately.
"It is not easy to deal with the police, when they are at fault. We may lodge a complaint now, but anything can happen to us later," said Sadam.This, however, did not prevent Sadam from joining a mob that went on a rampage on Friday night after the police refused to register an FIR against the constables allegedly responsible for Khopkar's death.
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Nearly 250 angry residents of the RCF colony, including Khopkar's four brothers and three friends, took to the streets pelting stones on vehicles at 11 pm. The mob was reined only after the police resorted to lathi charge. The RCF police have still not registered an FIR and say they are awaiting the autopsy results from the JJ Hospital, which should arrive on Monday.u00a0
Sathe and Amrutlal Bhilare, the beat constables allegedly responsible for Khopkar's death, have not returned to the station. Assistant Commissioner of Police J Khandagle refused to comment on the matter.
