Byculla jail murder case: 2 prison officials suspended, inquiry ordered against DIG
An inquiry has been ordered against the DIG (Prisons) Swati Sathe and two Byculla jail officials in the Manjula Shetye custodial death row.
The Maharashtra government today suspended two Byculla jail officials in connection to the custodial death of Manjula Shetye and ordered an inquiry against DGP (Prisons) Swati Sathe.
Minister of State (MoS) Home Rajit Patil in the legislative council said that acting jail superintendent A Gharbudve and jail superintended P Indulkar will be suspended on grounds of negligence.
Sathe is in soup over her WhatsApp messages seeking financial and legal aide for the six arrested jail staffers.
Patil added that the probe against Sathe will be to ascertain if she is a co-accused in the case. Her WhatsApp messages as well as call data records will be scrutinised under cyber crime laws.
The data will be sent to forensic laboratory for investigation. "The probe against Sathe will be completed in a week," Patil said.
He further stated that the testimony of all inmates will be recorded on camera and an impartial secretary level probe will be conducted.
NCP's Narendra Patil had raised the issue through a calling attention notice last week after the Opposition raised objection to the unsatisfactory answers given by the minister.
Leader of Opposition Dhananjay Munde said that the Byculla prison authorities admitted the petitioner and witness Mariam Sheikh to a hospital just before Opposition members were to meet the inmates.
He also added that Shetye was killed just before her release because the prison authorities feared she might spill beans on 'what goes on inside the jail'.