Byculla jail violence: Senior officers in Mumbai will face action for convict's death, says minister

Mumbai: The recent death of a woman convict in a jail in Mumbai was “completely avoidable” and some senior officers might be suspended in the near future for it, a Maharashtra minister said on Wednesday. [caption id=“attachment_3756109” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The convict, Manju Shette (45), lodged in the women’s jail in Byculla in South Central Mumbai, died at the state-run JJ Hospital on Friday night after allegedly being beaten up by a woman official of the prison on 23 June. “The provisional post-mortem report is awaited. Currently, recording of statements of about 200 people is going on. As of now, we have suspended all those who were prima facie found guilty and murder charges have been slapped on them,” Minister of State for Home Ranjit Patil told PTI. “The convict’s death could have been avoided, had there been an immediate intervention on part of the jail authorities.” “Now, responsibility will be fixed for lapses and once the investigation is completed, some big officers might be suspended as well in the near future,” he said. The police had earlier suspended six jail staffers and booked them for murder. The Mumbai Police Crime Branch has taken over the probe into Shette’s death, which had triggered a protest in the prison. Later, the Nagpada police booked nearly 200 inmates, 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.