Mumbai Custodial Death Case: Special CBI Court Convicts 2 Policemen For Torturing Detainee, Sentences Them To 7 Years In Jail

Mumbai: In a rare instance, the special CBI court on Tuesday convicted two police officials for custodial torture following which a detainee died on September 11, 2009. The two have been sentenced to seven years in jail with a fine of Rs 62,000 each, of which Rs 1 lakh will be paid to deceased Altaf Shaikh’s mother.

Accused Officers and Case Background

The two policemen are Sanjay Khedekar, 55, and Raghunath Kolekar, 62. The CBI had also booked a third policeman, Sayaji Thombare, but he died in 2023, pending trial. Khedekar and Kolekar were never arrested after the registration of the case as the charge of Section 330 (voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession or to compel restoration of property) under the Indian Penal code was a bailable offence.

Court Observations

The court acquitted them from the charges of murder, observing that Shaikh’s death was natural (respiratory failure due to combined additive effect of toxicity of Alprazolam and ethyl alcohol and lung pneumonia). However, the court accepted that Shaikh was indeed subjected to assault in custody.

Incident Details

As per the CBI case, Shaikh was a driver by profession and had been booked in many theft cases, following which he was externed to Jalna. On September 11, 2009, at 4am, Khedkar (police sub inspector), Kolekar (head constable) and Thombare (police naik) went to Shaikh’s house.

It is claimed that all three assaulted Shaikh at his residence and on the road, bringing him to Ghatkopar police station in an auto-rickshaw. At around 9am, he was found unresponsive and rushed to Rajawadi Hospital, where he was declared brought dead.

Investigation and Legal Proceedings

Shaikh’s mother, Mehrunissa Kadir Shaikh, approached the Bombay High Court seeking a CBI inquiry. The court, by its order on October 16, 2009, directed CBI to investigate the case. However, it was only in November 2013, by the order of magistrate court, the charges of murder and voluntarily causing hurt to extort confession were added.

Witnesses and Medical Findings

Sunil Gonsalves with Abhijeet Sarnobat appeared for the CBI and examined 29 witnesses, including Shaikh’s mother, sister and other witnesses who saw the cops assaulting him.

Notably, the inquest panchnama recorded no external injuries on Shaikh’s body. Whereas, the post-mortem report revealed death due to drug-alcohol toxicity, contusion on scalp with haemorrhage and pneumonia associated with fatty liver. Dr Gajanan Chavan testified that the injury may have been due to a hard and blunt object.

He deposed that, in the absence of other factors, the injury was sufficient to cause death. He said that Alprazolam and alcohol could cause death when taken together. Another doctor, Dr Bhalchandra Gopianth Chikhalkar, said the cause of death was acute toxicity with contusion to scalp, but the injury was sufficient to cause death on its own.

Expert Opinion and Court’s Decision

Besides, expert opinion sought from AIIMS, New Delhi, noted that the cause could be respiratory failure due to combined toxicity and lung pneumonia. With conflicting opinions, the court gave the accused benefit of doubt. However, it was accepted that Shaikh was assaulted in police custody that led to unexplained injuries.

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Family’s Response

After the verdict, Shaikh’s mother said she will appeal for enhancement of punishment. She said it has been a difficult time as she and her daughter have been doing household work between attending court hearings.

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