Attacked by 4 inmates with scissors, piece of metal hinge, undertrial killed in Yerawada Central Prison

Citing past rivalry as the reason for the attack, jail officials said the deceased and the four assailant belong to rival gangs which were active in Pimpri Chinchwad area in past.

Several members of both gangs are currently lodged in Yerawada Central Prison under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA).

The deceased, identified as Mahesh Mahadev Chandanshive, a resident of Chikhali, was arrested along with his gang members by the Pimpri Chinchwad police in November last year on the charges of preparing and assembling for a dacoity and armed assault and possession of dangerous weapons.

He was sent to Yerawada Central Prison from November 30 last year under the magisterial custody. He was lodged in Barrack No 1 of Circle No 2 of the prison, which is an area earmarked for undertrials.

A senior officer from Yerawada Central Prison said, “Around 3.10 pm on Thursday, a group of four undertrial inmates — Aniket Samdur, Mahesh Mane, Aditya Mure and Ganesh Mote— attacked Chandanshive. The attackers used a pair of scissors used in prison for haircutting and a piece of a metal hinge of a door. Chandanshive sustained injuries on the neck and on the abdomen. He was administered immediate treatment by prison doctors and was taken to the Sassoon General Hospital for further treatment in a prison ambulance. He was pronounced dead at the hospital.”

An officer from Yerawada Police station said, “Probe suggests that incident took place when the inmates from the Circle were released from their barracks for the routine yard time or recreation time. We have got to know that sometime around 2020, Chandanshive had assaulted Mote with a sharp weapon. Since then Mote’s gang had been nursing grudges against Chandanshive. “

“We have booked four assailants on the charges of murder and various provisions of the Prisons Act. A probe will be conducted into how they got hold of the objected they used as murder weapons. The police custody of the four persons will be sought from the court for probe into the case of the assault,” the officer said.

Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone 4) Shashikant Borate said that a probe has been launched into the murder.

Special Inspector General of Police Jalinder Supekar said that a security review will be conducted and he will visit the prison premises on Friday for the same.

Overcrowding a challenge for segregation

Prison officials also said that the overcrowding poses a major challenge for the segregation and maintaining physical separation among criminals, and especially between the rival organised gangs.

According to the latest Prison Department statistics which are from December 1 last year, the prisons in Maharashtra have an inmate population of 41,235 as against the capacity of 25,393, which amounts to overcrowding of around 62 per cent.

The nine central prisons in the state have an inmate population of 28,336 as against the capacity of 16,110, with overcrowding of around 76 per cent. The Yerawada Central Prison has 6,816 inmates against the capacity of 2752, amounting to overcrowding of 148 per cent.