Aasiya Begum, mother of 2002 Ghatkopar blast accused Khwaja Yunus who allegedly died in police custody, displayed her boldness and courage when she on January 24 turned down the Rs 3-lakh compensation the Maharashtra government had announced on January 16 for her. She said that she would move the Supreme Court if all the 14 accused officers in the case were not prosecuted. “I fear that the CID will not be able to conduct a foolproof investigation as they might be under pressure. If all the 14 accused policemen are not prosecuted, I will approach the Supreme Court and ask for a CBI inquiry in the case,” said Aasiya Begum.
Of the 14 accused policemen in the alleged custodial death case, the state government had granted sanction to prosecute only four – assistant police inspector Sachin Vaze, police naiks Rajendra Tiwari and Rajendra Nikam and constable Sunil Desai. The High Court then asked the state government to file an affidavit asking it to explain why the sanction was granted for the prosecution of only four of the 14 accused officers. The matter will come up for hearing on February 14.
Rejecting the government’s compensation, Aasiya Begum said: “Am I expected to bargain with the government for a price for my son’s body. No mother would do such a thing. I have been struggling for years now just to get my son’s body back.”
Claiming that Yunus would have been earning a monthly salary of Rs 60,000 if he were alive, Aasiya said that if the government wanted to compensate her, they should give her the amount that her son would have earned till retirement. She said that she had already spent more than Rs 3 lakh in travelling from Parbhani to Mumbai to get justice.