'Can’t allow the main accused to turn approver,' says SPP Gharat

A day after Sachin Waze former cop and prime accused in the custodial death case of Khwaja Yunus informed the court that he wished to turn approver in exchange for pardon Special Public Prosecutor SPP Pradeep Gharat will oppose the petition when it comes up before the court ldquoCan the main accused be allowed to turn approverrdquo was Gharatrsquos first reaction to the latest twist in the caseWaze filed his application to turn approver on Monday He is the main accused in the January 2003 custodial death case of Yunus a 27yearold software engineer ldquoWaze is the officer the remaining three accused are just constablesrdquo Gharat pointed out ldquoNormally someone who plays a minor role in a crime offers to turn approver When the main accused does so what remains of the casersquorsquo Gharat saidGharat also pointed out that those who want to turn approvers file applications implicating themselves and asking for a pardon ldquoBut Wazersquos application is not selfimplicatoryrsquorsquo said Gharat adding ldquoHe says he did not escort Khwaja Yunusrdquo It appeared said Gharat that Waze wanted to arraign some othersThe case so farThe case pertains to the arrest and subsequent ldquodisappearancerdquo of Yunus in January 2003 Days after his arrest in the December 2002 Ghatkopar bomb blast case police claimed Yunus had ldquoescapedrdquo when the vehicle in which they were taking him to Aurangabad met with an ldquoaccidentrdquo An FIR was filed on January 7 2003 by Sachin Waze who along with three constables was escorting YunusEncounter specialist Sachin Waze being felicitated by Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray in 2008 File PicRane AshishHowever a courtordered inquiry found that Yunus had been tortured in custody and his body was then disposed of Fourteen cops were named responsible for his killing but the Maharashtra government only sanctioned the prosecution of Waze and three constables who were charged with his murder and with destroying evidenceA plea by Yunusrsquo mother to make all 14 policemen accused in the case is pending in the SC In January 2018 the first witness to depose in the trial said he had seen four other cops assaulting Yunus on January 6 2003 till he collapsed Yunus was not seen alive thereafter The then SPP had asked the court to add those four cops as accused but he was immediately dismissed In September 2022 the court allowed Gharat the new SPP to withdraw that pleaIn August 2023 Gharat called an officer of the Powai Crime Branch ACP Ambadas Pote as a witness However since Pote was among the 14 indicted in the inquiry Waze had objected to this as had Yunusrsquo lawyers The court was to pass its order on whether this witness should be called but before it could do so Waze filed the application to turn approverApplication names GharatInterestingly in his application Waze has also named Gharat ldquoSPP Gharat has shown a clear intention to lead the prosecution by his views totally contrary to the FIRhellip as well as contrary to every stand earlier taken in this case It is further pertinent to note that the Learned SPP may well be within his fanciful rights hellipbut this will cause injustice not only to me but everybody concernedhellipand cause further indefinite delay leading to nowhererdquoldquoI have my own clear views and the stand taken earlier is not binding on merdquo said Gharat ldquoIrsquove to look into all the material availablerdquo Gharat also pointed out that Wazersquos application had not been made through Wazersquos lawyers but directly by him ldquoShould the court entertain such an application This shows that he has no trust in his lawyersrdquoCountering Wazersquos claim that he was ldquosufferingrdquo because of the delay in the trial Gharat pointed out that Waze and his coaccused were out on bail in this case Gharat said he has sent Wazersquos application to the Investigating Officer IO in the case so that senior officers can study itJan 6Day in 2003 Khwaja Yunus was assaulted