MUMBAI, 26 January 2008 — The mother of a man allegedly murdered in police custody has refused to accept 300,000 rupees ($7,600) in compensation offered by the Maharashtra government.

Aasiya Begum, mother of Khwaja Yunus, who was detained by police on suspicion of involvement in the Goregaon bus bomb explosions in Mumbai, told reporters on Thursday that she needed justice not charity.

The case of Yunus goes back to Dec. 23, 2002, when the 27-year-old engineer working in Dubai was picked up near his house in Parbhani while visiting his family. He was brought to Mumbai on Jan. 3, 2003 and charged under the draconian Prevention of Terrorism Act for his alleged involvement in the blasts. Another person detained with Yunus and later released testified before a special anti-terrorism court that on Jan. 6, 2003, Yunus was whipped with a belt and kicked on the chest repeatedly by the interrogators at the police station. As a result he vomited blood. A day later, police claimed he escaped while being transported by the police to Aurangabad and has not been seen since.

At Thursday’s press conference, Aasiya Begum demanded that all accused in the murder conspiracy be charged and the case handed over to the federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI). She held inspectors Praful Bhosale, Ambadas Pote, Pradeep Sharma, Arun Borude and Hemant Desai responsible for her son’s murder.