Byculla jail inmate sexually assaulted: FIR

The six prison staff who allegedly caused the death of a convict at the Byculla womens' jail by thrashing her on June 23, also tied her and sexually assaulted her on her private parts with a wooden baton, causing severe bleeding, the FIR registered in the case by the Nagpada police states.

According to the FIR filed on the complaint by Mariam Shaikh, an undertrial prisoner, Shetye was assaulted after she confronted prison staff on a lesser quantity of eggs and bread being supplied in the barrack.

The State Human Rights Commission on Tuesday registered a suo-motu case on the death of the inmate, Manjula Shetye. "The Commission has sought a report in the matter from Inspector General of Prisons and Jailor of Byculla prison, which they will have to submit within two weeks. Based on their reports, the Commission will decide further course of action," said Chairperson of State Human Rights Commission, SR Bannurmath.

Taking suo motu congnizance of the incident, the State Women's Commission has also summoned the Additional Director General of Police (Prisons) Dr BK Upadhyay in person, and called for a detailed report on the case, at 11 am Thursday.

Sanjay Baswat, Senior Inspector, Nagpada police station said, "We are probing the case and will soon make arrests in the case. We are waiting for the autopsy report to confirm if the victim was assaulted on her private parts. Primary reports suggest that the victim was assaulted, which led to injuries at multiple places."

Shetye's brother has, meanwhile, demanded that an inquiry be initiated into past deaths that have taken place inside the jail.

On Saturday, after Shetye's death, 295 female inmates in the barrack protested, and some of them managed to climb onto the roof of the barrack number 2 of the jail. Indrani Mukerjea, an accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, has been booked along with other inmates for rioting, unlawful assembly and assaulting a public servant, among other sections.

Mukerjea on Tuesday filed an application through her lawyer in the Sessions Court claiming that she had been brutally assaulted by prison staff and had been threatened with sexual assault. The court has asked her to be produced before it on Wednesday.

According to the police, a day after Shetye's death, inmates were armed with chilli powder mixed in water, which was thrown on jail staff and police officers called in to control the protesting inmates. The inmates allegedly vandalised CCTV cameras and collected computers and laptops to set them on fire. The police claimed that the inmates broke two large-sized locks to climb a ladder to get onto the roof of the barrack. The inmates allegedly threw utensils and set clothes on fire inside the prison, the police alleged. More than 150 policemen had entered the prison to control the inmates.

A month back, Shetye, was transferred from Yerwada jail to Byculla prison after she requested jail authorities to lodge her in a prison close to her residence. Since a post of a warden was vacant at Byculla jail, the prison authorities considered her request. Shetye had, however, requested to be transferred to Kalyan jail, which was denied.

Prisons department sources said, "After the transfer to Byculla jail, Shetye was upset as she wanted to meet her kin at Kalyan jail which was closest to her residence. The issue was not only over eggs and bread, but she was not on good terms with Manisha Pokharkar, a group 2 jailer, who has now been suspended. She had earlier too fought with jail staff for other prisoners."

Meanwhile, Anand Shetye, brother of the victim said, "The prison authorities tried to hide the murder by claiming that my sister fell down and became unconscious as she was suffering from loose motions. If the inmates would have not protested, the prison authorities could have hidden the truth. We now want a probe into the other deaths reported inside the Byculla prison, as we suspect that many such people have been killed and their deaths were labeled as accidental or natural deaths."

"The prison authorities did not inform us till the next day and had also not conducted the post mortem immediately as they informed the hospital authorities that my sister had died a natural death," said Shetye.

Rajvardhan Sinja, Inspector General (Prisons) said, "We have suspended six staffers including a senior officer and are cooperating with the police in their probe. We are also probing how prisoners managed to break locks to get to the roof, and how they were able to set prison property on fire."

The investigations will be transferred to state Central Investigation Department (CID), as it is a case of custodial death. Meanwhile, the Nagapda police have not made any arrests in the murder case.

Indrani Mukerjea and seven other inmates, named in a counter case lodged by prison guard Suvarna Menane, are likely to be arrested this week on charges of rioting, and assaulting public servant while conducting duty, among other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.