Undertrials booked in terror cases ‘assaulted’ at Taloja jail, lawyer writes to rights panel

While Shamil is facing charges of conspiracy to carry out attacks as part of the banned organisation ISIS, Irfan has been behind bars since 2012, facing trial for his alleged role in the JM Road case involving five low-intensity blasts in Pune on August 1, 2012, where one person was injured.

The complaint states that on Friday, around 3pm, the door of the barrack was intentionally opened and 7-10 inmates attacked Shamil and Irfan.

The letter sent by lawyer Shamsher Jalil Ansari says that the attack was “pre-planned and brutal”, and that the two men have sustained serious injuries, requiring immediate medical attention.

The complaint also stated that the jail staff had opened the door of the barrack and were aware and complicit in the assault. It further states that rather than giving them medical treatment, the jail authorities isolated them in a “punishment barrack”.

“My clients are facing a serious and continued threat of further custodial violence and fear that they may be fatally harmed if not immediately protected,” the complaint written to the NHRC, SHRC and the Jail superintendent states.

It seeks that the commissions take cognisance of the incident and register appropriate proceedings against all the persons involved including jail authorities.

It also seeks that the CCTV of the barracks and adjoining areas be preserved and analysed and an independent inquiry be conducted.

Calls to the superintendent of Taloja jail went unanswered.

Shamil Nachan’s interim bail plea rejected

Meanwhile, a special court rejected the interim bail plea of Shamil Nachan.

Shamil had sought temporary bail from July 3 to July 23, to perform religious rituals following his father’s death.

The court stated that while he was granted the liberty to attend the burial of his father, Saquib Nachan, who died in New Delhi, on June 28, while in judicial custody over a similar case of alleged links with ISIS, there is no compelling circumstance to allow him to be released now.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) had opposed the plea stating that Shamil is booked in a serious case, where the accused were conspiring to attack the sovereignty and safety of the country by carrying out terrorist attacks.
“…to mourn the death of his father, the applicant/accused Shamil can offer prayer from anywhere. He need not personally and physically be present in the graveyard,” special judge C S Baviskar said, adding that while some sects of the Muslim community commemorate certain days after the death of a loved one, it finds no basis in the Quran.