Mumbai jail inmate murder: Jail officials remanded in 14-day judicial custody

The six jail officials, who were arrested for murdering Byculla jail inmate Manjula Shetye, were produced before the esplanade court on Friday and sent to judicial custody for 14 days. But the Mumbai crime branch has not yet recovered the sticks that were allegedly used to assault Shetye in the prison. 

Public prosecutor Rajendra Suryavanshi asked the court to extend the police custody by two days to help Crime Branch Unit 3 interrogate the accused and recover the stick, which would be a crucial piece of evidence in the case. 

However, defence lawyer Pankaj Bafna objected to the demand. He said the agency was given enough time to interrogate the accused and there was no development in the investigation. 

The crime branch officials said the CCTV footage of outside the barrack where Shetye was assaulted, showed the arrested jail staff dragging her towards the barrack. The police have been recording the statement of inmates who were inside the barrack during the incident. 

Shetye was assaulted around 11am on June 23 and died the same night. The Nagpada police registered a case of murder against six jail officials on June 25 and the case was transferred to the crime branch for investigation. 

Women’s panel tells CM about poor state of jail

The parliamentary women empowerment committee comprising 14 women MPs met chief minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday to talk about the plight of women prisoners in Byculla jail. The committee will submit its report about the condiction the inmates live in to the Parliament and may meet PM Narendra Modi too.

The committee headed by Bijoya Chakravarty, an MP from Assam, met Fadnavis for around 30 minutes. “We were not allowed to meet NGOs working for the inmates in the Byculla jail during our jail visit. It was a terrible experience. The toilets were in a shabby condition, no sanitary facilities were provided to women. The cells were overcrowded and the women were living in inhuman conditions,” one of the women MPs said.

Raksha Khadse, BJP MP from Raver, said, “We told the CM about the conditions in the jail. He has assured us that corrective measures will be taken.”