Haneef probe: police say no to compensation

Australian police had spent a whopping US $ 7.5 million probing Mohammed Haneef...

Australian police had spent a whopping US $ 7.5 million probing Mohammed Haneef, who was wrongly accused of terror charges, the country’s police chief said on Monday, while claiming that the Indian doctor did not have a case for compensation.

Mick Keelty told the Senate Estimates Committee that the Australian Federal Police (AFP) investigating Haneef’s case in connection with the failed UK terror bombings last year involved 470 police personnel and customs officers.

“As at the end of December 2007, expenses for the investigation are in excess of US $7.5 million,” he was quoted by The Australian daily.

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“That is made up of approximately US $ 5.5 million of employee expenses of which US $ 1.6 (million) accounts for overtime and approximately US $ 1 million in supply expenses.” Keelty, who has ducked calls for his resignation after the Haneef episode which caused severe embarrassment to Canberra, said there had been an internal investigation, but no changes had been made to processes inside the force.

“We have reviewed the Haneef matter in detail and there’s nothing that’s arisen out of those reviews that required us to alter our policies or our approaches to those investigations.” Attorney-General Robert McClelland is expected soon to announce the details of a judicial inquiry into the case.