Malegaon blast accused raises concern over security issue in Taloja jail

An accused in the Malegaon bomb blast case, Upadhyay, lodged in Taloja jail  has written to the Bombay High Court raising concerns over the existing and under-construction high rises which pose a security threat to the jail inmates.

Division bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice PD Kode have appointed an amicus curie (friend of court) on Monday to appear for Upadhyay and argue the case before the court after taking detailed instructions from him by visiting him in the prison.

Upadhyay, in a hand-written letter, has cited newspaper clippings of photos taken from a nearby building about the activities inside the jail. The letter states that no prison guard is armed except with a cane, if a photographer can click photos of what is happening inside the jail then anyone, for instance, a contract killer can go up to the roof or a flat overlooking the prison and shoot anyone.

He further stated that there are many high rises around the prison and the prison premises are visible from many apartments. This can be risky for the high profile prisoners here.

Upadhyay has appealed to the court to direct the state to assess the security of the prison and also impose a stay on construction of high rises around the prison. The petition will come up for hearing in due course of time.