scorecardresearch
Friday, Mar 29, 2024
Advertisement
Premium

Yerawada officials fear a riot brewing in overcrowded jail

Say surfeit of terror accused and gangsters makes clashes probable.

yerawada central prison, malegaon blast The Yerawada Central Prison houses 3,500 inmates — almost double its capacity. (Source: Express Archive)

A “law and order situation” is brewing in Yerawada Central Prison, and officials fear a communal flare-up or a gang war breaking out within its high walls. They attribute it to presence of a large number of terror accused from various outfits, dreaded gangsters and alleged Maoists in the overcrowded prison that houses 3500 inmates — almost double its capacity — giving enough room and interface for likely friction and clashes.

This was revealed in a written request from Yerawada prisons superintendent to a special court in Mumbai to shift an accused in the Malegaon blasts of 2008 — Major Ramesh Upadhyay (Rtd) — to any other prison. The argument for shifting Maj Upadhyay was based on the premise that the prison houses gangsters belonging to over a dozen “dreaded gangs” and suspects from Hindu and Muslim extremist outfits as well, increasing the probability of gang violence or “communal tension”.

The jail superintendent has argued that presence of Upadhyay could be a catalyst for a likely clash and “put security of the prison and other inmates at risk.”

Advertisement

The move assumes significance as it comes after the recent shifting of German Bakery Blast accused Himayat Baig from Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai to Yerawada prison in Pune. In what seemed to be a contradictory stand, the jail administration had not opposed the request by Arthur Road administration to shift Baig to Pune, though Baig had opposed it claiming Yerawada wasn’t safe for him. He had cited the murder of terror accused Qateel Siddiqui in Yerawada jail by gangster Sharad Mohol in 2012.

Baig was moved to Yerawada on December 7.

Baig’s lawyer Advocate Tayyur Pathan said the prison administration was taking contradictory stands in these two cases (Baig’s and Maj Upadhyay’s).

Festive offer

“If the administration is convinced that the prison is unsafe for a sensitive inmate as they have submitted to the MCOCA court, why did they not oppose the plea to move Baig to Yerawada from Arthur Road? My client is worried since he thinks he might meet the same fate as Qateel Siddiqui’s. We hope the High Court takes note and shifts my client back to Arthur Road Jail,” said Pathan.

Maj Upadhyay was arrested in November 2008 for alleged involvement in the Malegaon blast, in which six persons were killed and more than 100 were injured on September 29, 2008. He was named a conspirator, along with prime accused Lt Col S P Purohit.

Advertisement

Requesting a MCOCA court to shift Upadhyay, jail superintendent Yogesh Desai named “infamous and dreaded gangs” — Bhai Thakur gang, Chhota Rajan gang, Subhas Thakur gang, Waghire gang, Andhekar gang, Daud gang, Machenkar gang, Arun Gawli gang, Ghaiwal gang, Khada Vasim gang, Feroz Bangali gang, Dangat gang and Marne gang. The members of these gangs are lodged in Yerawada prison. The jail superintendent also named several persons associated with Hindu and Muslim “fundamentalist” groups, lodged in Yerawada prison.

“The possibility of gang war… communal tension between members of Hindu and Muslim fundamentalist outfits can’t be ruled out. This might disrupt law and order,” Desai has written.

“Also, there are many prisoners who have been transferred due to administrative or security reasons. It’s not possible to keep rival gang members together due to security reasons but at the same time, it’s virtually impossible to completely segregate them due to space crunch. The inmate in question (Maj Upadhyay) is linked to Hindutva outfit and keeping him with other inmates will put security of the prison and other inmates at risk. Hence Your Honour is requested to shift him to some other prison,” pleads Desai.

Maj Upadhyay, through his lawyer refuted the claims of the prison administration and said they have not cited any specific group that may pose a threat to him.

Advertisement

Upadhyay said the prison administration had not objected to his transfer to Yerawada prison in July 2014. He submitted a sworn affidavit given by then superintendent of Nashik Jail who had said there were no inputs from any agency about Upadhyay or his family facing any threat from any group or person.

“Yerawada Central Prison did not raise any objection, from the time of learning of the impending transfer of the accused in July 2014 till December 2014…the prison (administration) has not mentioned the name of the person, group or gang they perceive as a threat to life or limb of the accused. The gang members mentioned had been lodged in prison prior to my shifting,” the submission of behalf of Upadhyay stated. His son Vishal said the administration was trying to shift him without any valid reason as he keeps raising his voice against injustice meted out to him and other inmates.

‘Segregating inmates is a huge challenge’

Yerawada Central Prison was built to house 1800 prisoners and has almost double the number — 3500 — including prisoners facing trial. The prison is spread over 500 acres and has some high-security barracks including the Anda cell, Faasi (hanging) yard and some high-security circles.

A jail officer said, “This jail was built in 1871 and the then British rulers did not feel the need of segregating inmates. Over 3500 is a huge number and keeping convicts and undertrials separate to avoid disputes or fights is a huge task. Jail security officers have to take into account gang rivalries and differences between terror outfits. At times there are disputes within factions of one gang, sometimes rival gangs need to be separated.”

Advertisement

The officer added, “We have to admit that it is a big challenge. In such circumstances even one vacancy in a high security circle can create a lot of space for re-adjustments.”

When contacted, jail superintendent Yogesh Desai said, “I cannot comment. The matter is pending in court.”

First uploaded on: 29-01-2015 at 02:57 IST
Latest Comment
Post Comment
Read Comments
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
close