HC orders CBI probe into death in railway police's custody

Observing that an attempt was made by police to "fabricate" evidence, the Bombay High Court today ordered the CBI to probe the custodial death of Agnelo Valdaris, a 24-year-old Mumbai resident, arrested by the railway police.
"We find that an attempt has been made by police to fabricate the evidence....Your investigation does not inspire confidence," said Justices V M Kanade and P D Kode.
Agnelo and his three friends were arrested by Wadala railway police for stealing a gold chain and a ring in April. Police claimed that he attempted to run away, and was run over by a local train on April 18 while crossing the tracks.

However, his father moved the HC, alleging that his son died in police custody due to the beatings, and sought a CBI probe.
The judges today said the state government too had shielded the accused as they were policemen. The investigators did not take the help of cyber cell of state police to obtain CCTV footage to verify the claim that Agnelo was run over by a train, the court noted.
The bench asked CBI to file a fresh FIR within 48 hours and submit a report on the probe within four weeks.

The state government's contention was that CCTV footage is automatically deleted after a fortnight. However, the judges sought to know why no attempt was made to procure the footage immediately, particularly when the father of the deceased had made this request to the police.

The High Court also noted with deep concern the contention of the petitioner that in the last 14 years Maharashtra has reported the highest number of custodial deaths in the country (23 per cent of the total), while nobody was ever convicted in such cases.
"It is hard to believe that such cases are happening in a civilised society and in a progressive state like Maharashtra," said the bench.