Key witness seeks cover from police

HAJI ALI ABDUCTION

By Mateen Hafeez/TNN

Mumbai: Here’s another classic instance of the police hounding a prime witness in a case to such an extent that the man in question is complaining of dwindling income.

Taxi driver Mohammed Zakariya (26) was the only witness in the kidnapping of a Tata Electric executive at Haji Ali last month. The executive, Suman Salil Sinna (38), had got into Zakariya’s taxi on March 27 at Churchgate to go to Worli. On the way, three persons forcibly entered the cab and ordered Zakariya to drive to Sinna’s Marine Drive residence. On reaching there, the accused asked Sinna to call up his wife and get his ATM card. The accused then asked Zakariya to drive to L a m i n g t o n Road where they withdrew Rs 15,000 from an ICICI ATM centre. The trio also took away Sinna’s gold rings worth Rs 37,000.
For Zakariya, trouble began immediately after the incident. Zakariya, who drives a rented taxi, began to be routinely summoned by the Tardeo police to identify suspects. “They take me to different places to identify people. I am so hassled that I find it difficult to concentrate on my work. Sometimes the police call me in the morning and at times at night,’’ he said.

Zakariya, who is originally from Uttar Pradesh, came to Mumbai 10 years ago and worked as a barber. Later, he learned driving and got a rented taxi, for which he pays Rs 200 per day to the owner.

Unless he drives every day for a certain number of hours, it’s difficult for Zakariya to earn any money. But now, he is required at the Tardeo police station every day. “I have been unable to sleep properly since this happened. When I am not driving, I spend my time roaming around Haji Ali, Crossroads and Lamington Road along with the policemen. I just hope that the accused gets arrested because I can’t take this any more,’’ he added.

Santosh Rastogi, the zonal DCP, said the police needed Zakariya’s presence to identify the culprits. “I do understand his problems. But we are trying our best to arrest the accused and Zakariya is the sole witness who can help us,’’ he said.

The Times of India, April 18, 2006