Upcoming Launch in Thane

| Log In | Sign Up |
Wed, Jun 18, 2014 AHMEDABAD MIRROR BANGALORE MIRROR PUNE MIRROR
Cover Story Crime Civic Others
Home Mumbai Columns Entertainment News Sport GoCricket Travel Videos Photos Mirror-XI All
By Yogesh Sadhwani, Mumbai Mirror | Jun 18, 2014, 04.04 AM IST
0 Comments More
Reay Road resident Agnelo Valdaris, 25, was
allegedly tortured in Wadala GRP's custody.
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday ordered a CBI
investigation into the alleged custodial death of 25-
year-old Agnelo Valdaris, who was branded a thief,
and the police torture of three others.
A division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D
Kode severely criticised the state police's handling
of the case, saying that the authorities appeared to
have destroyed key evidence such as CCTV footage
in the case.
"Our impression is that you (the police) have taken prompt steps to destroy the evidence, not to
preserve it," the court observed.
Reay Road resident Agnelo and three men were detained by the Wadala Government Railway Police
(GRP) on charges of robbery on April 15. Agnelo died in police custody three days later.
The police claim he had tried to escape from their custody and was knocked by a train. However,
Agnelo's father, Leonard, alleges that police officers tortured him to death. The three men who were
detained along with Agnelo have also said that they were thrashed inside the lock-up and even sexually
abused.
Leonard and the trio had moved the High Court.
Last week, the court ordered the Crime Branch to register a first information report against the 12
GRP officers blamed for Agnelo's death. It also asked the railway police to hand over to the petitioners
Agnelo's postmortem report, medical examination reports of the three men and the CCTV footage of
the places where they were taken after being detained.
The petitioners' counsel, Yug Mohit Chaudhry, told the court on Tuesday that the investigators had
botched up the case. He said that crucial evidence such as CCTV footage of Wadala railway station on
April 15 was not available even though the court had directed the director general of police to ensure
that the video was preserved.
Chaudhry also alleged that the face of the interrogation room, where the four men were held, had been
completely changed. The iron rods, belts and table used to allegedly torture the four had been
removed from the room.
He said that the police had only given Agnelo's post-mortem report, and not the medical reports of the
other three men who were beaten in custody. The state CID had filed the FIR against the 12 GRP
officers at Wadala railway station without even calling a single witness, Chaudhry told the court.
"We had requested the top police officer of the state to ensure that the vital piece of evidence is
preserved and seized, but not it has been lost," the division bench of Justices V M Kanade and P D
Kode said. "This shows that the police are not serious about the incident."
The court directed the CBI, the country's top investigation agency, to take over the case within 48
hours and register a fresh FIR.
During Tuesday's hearing, Chaudhry informed the court that Maharashtra had accounted for the
highest number of custodial deaths in the country - 23 per cent - for 12 of the past 14 years, according
to the National Crime Records Bureau. However, the police have failed to investigate the cases
properly.
Of the 298 custodial deaths in the state over the past 14 years, only 41 FIRs and 19 charge sheets had
been filed. Shockingly, there have been no convictions.
Home Mumbai Crime
HC orders CBI to probe death in police custody
Today This week Month All Time
Across Mumbai Mirror >>
Today This week Month All Time
Today This week Month All Time
Across Mumbai Mirror >>
Today This week Month All Time
Most Read
The beast amidst us
Bandra litterbugs who assaulted ar...
Bandra man gets a broken nose for ...
Girls behind Li Bai bottle attack ...
Marriage makes you mediocre
Loop mobile services disrupted on ...
No late entry for Salman
After being named and shamed, BMW ...
Woman, 30, found dead in Vikhroli ...
From Mumbai >>
Bandra litterbugs who assaulted ar...
The beast amidst us
Bandra man gets a broken nose for ...
Girls behind Li Bai bottle attack ...
Loop mobile services disrupted on ...
After being named and shamed, BMW ...
Woman, 30, found dead in Vikhroli ...
Born 13 weeks premature, Indias s...
Mirror likes: Is Mumbai flirt-frie...
Most Commented
Bandra litterbugs who assaulted ar...
Bandra man gets a broken nose for ...
After being named and shamed, BMW ...
The beast amidst us
From Mumbai >>
Bandra litterbugs who assaulted ar...
Bandra man gets a broken nose for ...
After being named and shamed, BMW ...
The beast amidst us
SEARCH
A A
HC orders CBI to probe death in police custody - Mumbai Mirror 18-06-2014
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/HC-orders-CBI-to-probe-death-in-police-custody/articleshow/36733975.cms 1 / 3
From Around The Web
Prepare Your Company Now to Survive
the End of HP
Nigeria ranks as worst in Africa with
highest globalslaveryindex.org
Ugly Truth About Earthworms Vetstreet
Why You Should Avoid Farmed Fish
Learnist
Romario criticises former team mate
Ronaldo Yahoo
11 Celebrities' Famous Last Words Learnist
More from Mumbai Mirror
To ban dance bars, state nixes dance
shows in Mumbai
BMC puts off demolition till Friday after
Mumbai
To fight crime, Bandra residents, cops
form Mumbai
Beetles Live! Mumbai
Thank God my wife was bathing
Entertainment
Sallu spends quality time with Bijli
Entertainment
Indiatimes Network or Fill in your details:
Post to Facebook Post to Twitter
0 + 5 =
Share your views - post your comment below
Your comment
Characters remaining (3000)
Log in to post this comment
Name Email
Will be displayed Will not be displayed
Location
Will be displayed
Share this Comment:

Please answer this simple math question.
We Recommend
Recommended by
Recommended by
Maximize Your ROI
With IT
Improvements
HP
Bill Gates endorses
the first ever Global
Slavery Index
globalslaveryindex.org
Why Decriminalizing
Prostitution Isn't The
Way To Go
hubub
Controversial
Magazine Covers
Learnist
GALLERIES
HC orders CBI to probe death in police custody - Mumbai Mirror 18-06-2014
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/HC-orders-CBI-to-probe-death-in-police-custody/articleshow/36733975.cms 2 / 3
Bangalore Mirror
Ahmedabad Mirror
Pune Mirror
Times of India
Economic Times
E-paper
M-Paper
Lifehacker India
Gizmodo India
Happy Trips
Weekend Getaways from Mumbai
Go Cricket
Home Mumbai Columns Entertainment News Sport Videos Photos Others
Cover Story
Crime
Civic
Others
Ask the Sexpert
Columns
Mumbai Columns
Letter to the Editor
Mumbai 001
Columnists
Big Picture
Bollywood
Hollywood
TV
Music
Art & Theatre
Books
India
World
Business
Cricket
Football
Tennis
F1
Others
News
Sports
Entertainment
Entertainment
News
Sports
Technology
Sunday Read
You
Sci Tech
Health
Leisure
About Us Advertise with us Terms of Use and Grievance Redressal Policy Privacy Policy
Copyright 2014 Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd. All rights reserved. For reprint rights:Times Syndication Service

HC orders CBI to probe death in police custody - Mumbai Mirror 18-06-2014
http://www.mumbaimirror.com/mumbai/crime/HC-orders-CBI-to-probe-death-in-police-custody/articleshow/36733975.cms 3 / 3