Byculla jail convict death: Superintendent, deputy suspended

Maharashtra Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil Tuesday announced the suspension of Byculla jail Superintendent Chandramani Indulkar and Tanaji Gharbudwe, who was holding charge in her absence as acting Superintendent on the day Manjula Shetye died inside the prison. The state also said it would, in a week, take a decision on whether DIG (Prisons) Swati Sathe could be booked under Section 201 of the IPC for causing disappearance of evidence. A calling attention motion was raised by in the Legislative Council after a group of members, including Opposition leader Dhananjay Munde, visited the Byculla jail Tuesday . The members claimed the jail authorities were trying to hide evidence linked to the incident and threatening witnesses. “I had told the jail authorities Monday we would visit the jail the following day to understand the situation that led to the incident and speak to witnesses. But today, before we reached the jail, one of the main witnesses, Maryam Shaikh, was moved out and admitted to a hospital. There is a conspiracy to hide the reason for the murder as well as the culprits,” said Munde. Council members had demanded that Indulkar, Gharbudwe and Sathe be suspended and booked in the case. Indulkar is said to have been in Pune, attending a training programme, when Shetye died. Gharbudwe was supposed to have been in charge in Indulkar’s absence. Legislators have said both were guilty of dereliction of duty and that Indulkar had returned from Pune the day the incident took place but chose to sit at home for two days. Legislators also sought the suspension of Sathe, claiming she, as the investigating officer in the case, had connived to save the accused. Sathe is reported to have sent messages to fellow jail officials on WhatsApp, seeking financial support for the six jail officials arrested in the case. The legislators demanded that Sathe be booked for the crime along with the other accused. The minister, however, shot down the demand. “The others are booked under charges of murder. It’s not possible to book Madam Swati Sathe for the same crime. We will, however, seek legal opinion on whether she can be booked under Section 201 (destroying evidence) as per the members’ demands,” said Patil. Last Friday, the state admitted that probe into the death of Shetye revealed that she dies because of assault and not due to a fall in a washroom, as was claimed by jail authorities.