Byculla jail death: Our statements watered down by police, claim Manjula Shetye’s brothers

Byculla prison inmate death: Manjula Shetye's brothers said the Mumbai Police Crime Branch had recorded their statements, but alleged that it was severely watered down.

byculla prison death, manjula shetya, mumbai jail, mumbai prison riot, indrani mukherjea, prison inmate death, mumbai police, indian express

The victim, Manjula Shetye, was assaulted allegedly by six prison officials over an argument. (representational)

The elder brothers of convict Manjula Shetye, who was allegedly beaten to death at Byculla prison, have expressed their dissatisfaction with the probe into her murder. Anant and Sharad were present before the Esplanade court on Friday to file an intervention application.

“The crime branch has begun a probe but senior officials have been left out of its ambit. We were initially told that Manjula had died due to health complications. It was revealed only later that she was assaulted to death by the jail staff. The cover-up of the murder could not have taken place without help from senior jail officials. We demand a probe against them too,” said Anant.

The brothers said the Mumbai Police Crime Branch had recorded their statements, but alleged that it was severely watered down. “We told them that my sister had informed us of rampant corruption in the jail during our last meeting. She could not reveal all details as the mulaqat is in the presence of jail staffers. She also said that male staff members sexually abused women inmates. We were not given a copy of our statements but they were read out to us, and they seemed watered down on these allegations,” Anant said.

Story continues below this ad

On Friday, advocate Nitin Satpute approached the court with an application on behalf of the complainant in the case, Mariam Shaikh. The application, which is yet to be admitted, seeks production of Call Data Records of several officials, including DIG Swati Sathe and JJ Hospital Dean TP Lahane. The plea also states that there should be brain-mapping and narco-analysis tests of some officials, including the Byculla jail superintendent. The court will decide on admitting the application on August 2.

When questioned, a crime branch officer said: “At the moment, we are concentrating on the assault on Shetye. We do not wish to comment on her brothers’ allegations at this stage.”

Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram

Tags:
Manjula Shetye