Cooked Pota(To)

The bungling of the Afroze case by the Mumbai police has resulted in a "loss of face" and withdrawal of the very first case booked under POTO in Maharashtra. Barely a month after the police hastily slapped the anti-terrorism ordinance on 26-year-old Mohammad Afroze, they suddenly withdrew the charge on March 26. Two weeks later, the man accused of being an Al Qaeda operative and allegedly part of a team despatched to fly an aircraft into the House of Commons in London on September 11, 2001, was released on bail after six months in custody. By April 9, the police had diluted the chargesheet. Afroze will now be booked under the Indian Penal Code.

Many see the Afroze case as a classic example of how the authorities can jump the gun when there is an ordinance or act which gives it sweeping powers. In hindsight, it's clear that the Mumbai police's application of POTO was an ill-advised move. Ujjwal Nikam, special public prosecutor handling the case, himself admitted that the ordinance, which was promulgated in October 2001, could not have been applied to alleged crimes committed earlier. Also, it has to be remembered that the Centre had declared Al Qaeda a terrorist body only on April 8, but Afroze had been booked under the ordinance on March 8.

The fiasco has heightened tensions between the Congress and the NCP, coalition partners in the government in Maharashtra. While the Congress has been vehemently opposed to the ordinance, the NCP has supported it with home minister and deputy chief minister Chaggan Bhujbal among its vocal proponents. Indeed, after the charges were dropped, the Congress has pinned the blame for the hasty application of POTO on Bhujbal. The deputy chief minister, on his part, has blamed the police.

When POTO was applied in the Afroze case, police commissioner M.N. Singh was on a trip overseas. While Bhujbal was informed that the police might be pressing charges under the ordinance, he says he did not push the cops to do so. Police officials say the ordinance may have been hurriedly applied in order to secure custody of Afroze for an extended period of time.

It is clear that the police failed to gather enough evidence to corroborate the sensational information they claimed they garnered from interrogating Afroze. This despite senior police officials, including police commissioner M.N. Singh, visiting the UK, Australia and the US to gather evidence.

Officials admit that the case is a major embarrassment for the Mumbai police, known for its investigative capabilities. One view gaining ground is that the police should have concentrated on gathering evidence and evaluating it rather than rushing to the media with shocking revelations.