No injuries on slain Byculla jail woman inmate's pvt part:SWC

A magisterial inquest into the death of a Byculla jail woman inmate has ruled out any injury on her private parts though her autopsy has suggested multiple injuries on her body, State Women's Commission Chairperson Vijaya Rahatkar said today.

Rahatkar said the SWC will form a three-member special investigation team (SIT) to further enquire into the death of the woman convict, Manju Shette, who had been serving her sentence in the jail.

"According to the panchnama (inquest report), all her organs and body parts were intact and no new or old injuries were found on the private parts of Manju Shette," She said.

Manju, 45, died at government-run J J Hospital on Friday of her injuries sustained in thrashing by a woman jailer on June 23. The police had earlier said Manju, whose death had triggered protests in the prison, was allegedly tortured and a stick was inserted in her private parts.

Manju's post-mortem report has been received and it suggests multiple injuries on her body, Rahatkar said adding that the details of the report were yet to be known.

According to her, Deputy Inspector General (Prisons) Swati Sathe today submitted a detailed report to the Women's Commission on Manju Shette's death and the subsequent protests by the jail inmates.

Sathe appeared before the Commission this morning at its suburban Bandra office.

"Sathe appeared before the Commission today and gave a detailed account of the events that led to the incident. She (Sathe) also told us that six jail staffers have been suspended and sections 302 and 34 (of the IPC) have been invoked against them (jail staffers)," she said.

Talking about the SIT, she said, "The Women's Commission will form a three-member SIT in connection with Manju's death. It will be chaired by a retired high court judge and it would comprise a retired senior police officer and a woman NGO member."

"The SIT will conduct a thorough investigation to ascertain the sequence of events and on the basis of its report, the Commission will take further action and make recommendations," she said.

The SIT will record statements of the Byculla jail inmates, including Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea, she said.

"Police has registered a case of murder against the jail staff, who allegedly beat up Manju Shette and they have been suspended," Rahatkar said.

She informed that the Commission has sought a detailed report on women prisoners in the state.

"The SWC has sought a detailed report on the condition of women prisoners in the state within the next 15 days," she said.

"The Commission has asked the jail authorities to present a report card of the women prisons and prisoners - the steps taken to ensure their safety, the problems they are facing and efforts undertaken to resolve the issues," Rahatkar added.

Following Manju's death, the enraged inmates of Byculla jail had protested on Saturday, with some of them going to the prison terrace and some others making a bonfire of newspapers and documents inside the premises to vent out their anger.

The Nagpada police had later booked nearly 200 inmates of the Byculla jail, including Indrani Mukerjea, lodged in the same prison, for rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on a public servant and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.

Indrani has moved a Mumbai court alleging that she was beaten up by the jail officials after the convict's death triggered a protest in the prison.

Six jail staffers had been placed under suspension and police had registered a case under IPC section 302 (murder) against them.

The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has taken over the probe into Shette's death.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)