Give me bail or I will go on hunger strike: Undertrial

An undertrial lodged in the Kalyan central jail, also called the Aadharwadi jail, for the past four years has written to the Kalyan court threatening to go on a hunger strike from June 10 unless he is either given bail or his case is adjudicated.

Raj Singh, 28, was booked along with his two brothers and a friend, on charges of bank robbery and attempt to murder in 2005 and has since been lodged in the Kalyan jail. The Kalyan court has over the years rejected the bail pleas filed by Singh and the other accused in the case.

In mid-2007, the Bombay high court rejected Singh’s bail application. But the judge ordered the Kalyan court to speed up the case proceedings and give a final verdict by 2008, which has not yet happened.

In a letter to the Kalyan court magistrate dated May 27, Singh has said the Kalyan court should either adjudicate his case or grant him bail, failing which he will go on a hungerstrike for an indefinite period.

Sandeep, a brother of Raj Singh who resides in Amritsar, said, “My brother worked as a sailor on a merchant navy ship and stayed in Chembur with other cousins. I don’t know how he has been accused in this case.”