Mumbai: High Court issues security for family of Santacruz man murdered back in 2005

Azan Butt (second from left) in police custody in 2022

The Bombay High Court has ordered police protection for the family of Kashinath Gharat, the property dealer murdered in Santacruz in 2005, after concerns over serial parole violator Azam Aslam Butt. Butt, sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder, has been missing from Nagpur Jail since his parole ended on May 6, 2023.

In response to a writ petition filed by the victim's brother, Vishwanath Gharat, the court instructed the police to safeguard the family. The Santacruz police are required to visit the Gharat residence twice daily until Butt is apprehended.

Accused Azam Butt continues to threaten the victim's brother, Vishwanath Gharat, urging him to withdraw the case after he jumped parole. Vishwanath Gharat approached the Santacruz police multiple times for protection, even with a court order. However, the Santacruz police failed to provide adequate protection.

Speaking with mid-day, Vishwanath Gharat, said, "The accused Azam Aslam Butt is threatening me continuously during the court hearings. He sent someone to me who threatened me to take back the case for my brother's murder. Previously, police officers visited my house daily and maintained a diary of their visits for security reasons while my mother was alive, but after her death, they stopped coming. I approached the Santacruz police multiple times, but they failed to provide me protection from the accused."

"After not receiving help from the Santacruz police, I filed a writ petition in the High Court to obtain police protection from the accused Azam Butt. The court ordered the Santacruz police to visit my home twice a day until the accused Butt is arrested," Gharat added. The court also ordered an investigation into how the accused Butt managed to secure parole multiple times, despite having jumped parole four times and having more than twelve criminal cases against him in various police stations, including murder, cheating, assault, and parole violations in Mumbai, Nashik, and Nagpur.

Vishwanath Gharat said, "My brother was killed by the accused Azam Butt after he had been watching my brother's activities for a week. He then murdered him. Recently, Baba Siddique was also killed after being monitored for a month. I am also under threat and the police should not ignore the threats. I am thankful to Justice Prithviraj K. Chavan and Revati Mohite Dere for granting me police protection from the accused. Now, a police team visits my house twice daily."