Women MPs meet Devendra Fadnavis, discuss ways to improve Byculla jail administration

Mumbai: Following the death of a Byculla jail woman inmate due to alleged thrashing by jail staffers, a delegation of women MPs Friday met Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and discussed ways to improve the jail administration. The MPs, part of the Parliamentary Committee for Women Empowerment, met the chief minister a day after visiting Byculla jail and interacting with the inmates there for about an hour. [caption id=“attachment_3757927” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Manjula Shetye. Puja Changoiwala[/caption] “We told Fadnavis what we saw in the jail. We told him that the government will have to do something to improve the prison conditions,” NCP MP Vandana Chavan, who was the part of the delegation, told PTI. “The CM listened to us and told us that he was seized of the issue,” Chavan said. Chavan said the visit to the jail helped the women MPs get a better understanding of the problems faced by the inmates. The police last month had registered a case of murder against six of the jail staffers following the death of Byculla jail inmate Manjula Shetye. The 45-year-old murder convict had died on 23 June at state-run JJ Hospital, where she was admitted after allegedly having been beaten up by jail staff. Six people, including female jailer Manisha Pokharkar, were arrested by the Mumbai Crime Branch. The jail has also launched an internal inquiry into the matter. Shetye’s death had sparked a riot in the jail, leaving five police personnel and several prison staffers injured. Nearly 200 inmates, including Indrani Mukerjea, the prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, had been booked for rioting and other offences.