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ShareHe went to check if MCOCA undertrials were on hunger strike
Public prosecutor Satish Borulkar visited Arthur Road Jail on Thursday to inquire into reports alleging that undertrials booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA), the stringent organized crime act, had launched an indefinite hunger strike.
The accused had started an indefinite hunger strike on January 1 to protest the slow disposal of MCOCA cases by the two designated courts.
Borulkar, who was accompanied by additional public prosecutors DS Mhaispurkar and Rajshri Gadhvi, and Amit Pattikal, a law clerk to Justice JN Patel, met over 150 inmates and heard their grievances. While the jail authorities denied that inmates were on a hunger strike, two of the 150 accused, who met the lawyers, said they had not eaten for the past four days.
Topping the list of grievances was the fact that nearly 400 MCOCA accused are awaiting trial. They demanded that a review committee be set up to take a fresh look at all cases regarding the applicability of MCOCA charges.
One of the inmates claimed that he had been booked MCOCA after being found carrying a razor.The inmates also demanded that those who had spent over two years in jail should be granted bail.
They also want the government to do away with the condition under the MCOCA Act, which states that an accused can be granted bail only if the judge has reason to believe that he is not guilty and will not commit a crime, or even repeal the draconian act.
Borulkar will submit a report regarding his visit to the government, the high court and principal judge of the sessions court on Friday. Some of his recommendations include appointing more judges to try MCOCA cases to ensure expeditious disposal.
Currently, there are two judges in the MCOCA courts at Kalaghoda and Sewri."A review committee headed by a retired judge should be appointed to look into each MCOCA case and its report should be made binding on the state," Borulkar said.
