Mumbai, March 24: The mother of Khwaja Yunus, who allegedly died because of police torture, has sought compensation of Rs 30 lakh from the Maharashtra government in a petition filed before Mumbai High Court.

Aasiya Begum filed the petition earlier this week asking for an interim compensation for violation of fundamental rights. The petition is likely to come up for hearing next week before the high court?s division bench of Justice P.V. Kakade and Justice R. Khandeparkar.

In her petition, Begum argues that the state government is legally bound to pay compensation to the family of a custodial death victim. She claims that her 26-year-old chemical engineer son died in the custody of Mumbai police during investigation of bomb blasts in a BEST bus at Ghatkopar on December 2, 2002.

Yunus was arrested for suspected links with the Students? Islamic Movement of India (SIMI) and alleged role in the conspiracy of the bomb blasts. The police claimed that Yunus escaped from custody on January 7, 2003, while being taken to Ahmednagar by an armed police patrol and has disappeared since.

Following a petition by Yunus? father alleging that his son died because of custodial torture, the court had asked the state Criminal Investigation Department to reinvestigate the case treating the eyewitness statement of a co-accused, Abdul Mateen Basit as a first information report. Basit said he had seen Yunus vomiting blood in the police lock-up January 6. The state CID had arrested five crime branch police officers for the custodial death. All five have been given bail.

Special court judge A.P. Bhangale today allowed four police officers out on bail to intervene in a petition filed by Basit demanding their arrest under the anti-terror law. The court asked them to file a reply to Basit?s plea by March 31.