Accused in Amravati killing brutally assaulted by fellow prisoners in Arthur Road jail: Police

According to the police, the incident took place around 11pm on Saturday when Pathan was talking to other inmates of the jail.

The police said that the inmates involved in the incident were lodged in the same barrack and late on Saturday, they were sharing details with other prisoners on the crimes they had committed.

“But suddenly, there was an argument between them after Pathan started boasting about killing Kolhe following which the five accused assaulted him,” said a senior police officer.

Pathan sustained minor injuries in his hands and neck.

The police further added that as soon as the jail authorities came to know about the incident, they went to the barrack and separated Pathan from the others identified as Kalpesh Patel, Hemant Maneria, Arvind Yadav, Shravan Chavan and Sandeep Jadhav.

“We were later informed about the incident by the jail authorities after which a case was registered under Indian Penal Code (IPC) sections 323 (punishment for voluntarily causing hurt), 504 (intentionally insulting a person) and 143 (punishment for unlawful assembly) on Tuesday,” said senior police inspector Sunil Chandramore of NM Joshi Marg police station.

Later on Wednesday, an official from Arthur Road jail approached a special court with a report about the incident of assault. The official told the court that after the incident, the seven accused in the case have sought to be shifted to another prison. The court has asked jail authorities to refer to the rules as per the Maharashtra Prison Manual regarding such a transfer and make submissions based on it during the next hearing. The court has also asked prison authorities of Thane and Taloja jails on whether there is space and provisions for the seven to be transferred.

An official said that the Arthur Road prison currently has over 3,000 prisoners against the official capacity of over 800.

When asked whether the five men accused of assaulting Pathan were arrested, a senior police officer said, “As they are in judicial custody, we have initiated the process of taking their custody to get more details on the incident.”

Pathan and six others were arrested in connection with the murder of Kolhe, who was killed in Amravati on June 21. The Maharashtra Police had said that Kolhe was killed allegedly for a social media post supporting former BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma over her controversial comments on Prophet Mohammed.