Mumbai: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Wednesday informed the Bombay high court that it has received the sanction from its higher authority to prosecute eight railway policemen, who were arrested for allegedly murdering 25-year-old convict Agnelo Valdaris in April 2014 in Wadala. The accused will now face trial under section 377 (unnatural sex) and section 109 (abetment) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC).
In 2014, the Wadala TT police had arrested Valdaris and his aide in a chain snatching case. Later, his body was found on railway tracks, following which the GRP filed an accidental death report. But the father of the deceased Leonardo Valdaris approached the high court and sought CBI inquiry. A division bench of Justice Ranjit More and Justice Sarang Kotwal was hearing a petition filed by Leonardo Valdaris.
CBI counsel Hiten Venegaonkar told The Asian Age, “Now, investigation officer got approval from the higher authority to prosecute eight accused under the charge of section 377 (unnatural sex).” He further added, “We have informed the court that CBI will soon file a supplementary chargesheet in trial court.”
He said the CBI had found evidence that the policemen physically and sexually abused the Leonardo while he was in their custody, but it had not found any prima facie evidence to book them.
On April 15, 2014, the Wadala GRP had arrested deceased Agnelo Valdaris, along with his three accomplices in a chain snatching case. They were kept in police custody for three days and allegedly stripped, tortured and even forced to have oral sex. On April 18, 2014, Valdaris died allegedly in custody while the others were released on bail on April 22. After his death, the Wadala police claimed that Valdaris tried to escape from custody and was run over by a train.
However, the father of the deceased approached the high court, seeking a CBI probe. The CBI, in its FIR, booked eight officials of the GRP in Wadala on charges of murder, unnatural sex, kidnapping and falsifying evidence.
However, in its chargesheet filed in January this year, the CBI charged the accused only with criminal conspiracy, voluntarily causing hurt and other lesser charges.
The charges under which the policemen were booked attract a maximum punishment of three years, in contrast to the life sentence, had they been charged with the murder.
The high court had slammed the CBI, observing that prima facie evidence suggest murder and unnatural sex.
The court had then directed the CBI to take a relook at the evidence in the case and file a supplementary report. The high court on Wednesday directed the advocate appearing for the father of the deceased to respond to the CBI’s claim that no murder charge was made out against the accused. The court then posted the matter for further hearing after four weeks.
