Byculla Jail violence: Mumbai Crime Branch takes over case to probe death of convict

Mumbai: The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has taken over the probe into the death of a woman convict who was lodged in the Byculla prison in Mumbai, a senior police official said on Wednesday. The Commissioner of Mumbai Police has issued an order, as per which the crime branch will investigate the death of convict Manju Shette, the official said. The police had earlier suspended six jail staffers and booked them on the charge of murder. Manju, 45-year-old, died at the government-run JJ Hospital on Friday night after allegedly being beaten up by a woman official of the jail on 23 June.

The Byculla jail, located in the heart of the city, houses around 251 inmates. The police had earlier said Manju, whose death triggered protests in the prison, was allegedly tortured and a stick was inserted in her private parts.

[caption id=“attachment_3753225” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. AFP[/caption] “These allegations are part of an FIR filed against the jail staff. We are probing the matter,” Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone-3), Akhilesh Singh had said. Following Manju’s death, the enraged inmates rose in protest on Saturday, some of them went to the prison’s terrace, while others made a bonfire of newspapers and documents inside the premises to express their anger. Later, the Nagpada police booked nearly 200 inmates of the Byculla jail, including Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea, who is lodged in the same prison, for rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on a public servant and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code. Indrani on Tuesday moved a Mumbai court alleging that she was beaten up by the jail officials after the convict’s death triggered a protest in the prison.