Jail murder case: Cops file reply to high court order

Raising concerns over the recent murder committed in the Sabarmati central jail, Gujarat High Court has appointed advocate Shalin Mehta as an amicus curiae to assist the court in the matter.

The court had initiated suo motu proceeding in the matter wherein an undertrial, Suresh Kakadia, had been stabbed to death by one Mahendra Vala, a convict, on March 1.

The court had on March 5 directed the state government to file a report as to how the incident had occurred and who was responsible for safeguarding the life of undertrial prisoners. Police officials filed affidavits as a reply to these questions. Inspector MB Joshi of Sabarmati police and jail superintendent V Chandrashekhar have blamed local guards for the incident.

In their reply, the officials said that two guards, subedar RJ Shankwal and constable Kantibhai Vankar, were not present on the spot as they had to attend emergency calls. The constable was at civil hospital with two other prisoners while the subedar was engaged in settling another dispute among undertrial prisoners.

The police also stated in their reply that Vala murdered Kukadia after another prisoner Adam Sindhi asked Vala to recover Rs25,000 from the deceased. However, jail authorities could not explain how Vala got a handmade metal strip used for the murder.