Preserve Thane prison, urges minister

Raote promised to arrange for funds to repair the structures. He also wanted the jail authorities to present to him the modernisation and expansion project of the jail which he promised would be pursued with the State government.

Superintendent of the jail Mahale who accompanied the minister around the jail informed the minister that the fort was constructed by the Portuguese and later used as a prison by theBritish.

The first political prisoner of the jail was the Sardar of Peshwas, Trimbakji Dengla. He managed to sneak past the British guards and escaped. Then from 1857, the jail was regularly used to lodge political prisoners.

Hundred years later, in 1957 during the next freedom struggle, the East India Company government used to lodge a number of long term prisoners at the Andaman prison. Enroute, these prisoners used to be kept in the Thane jail and then taken to Andaman by sea from Mumbai.

When the government took the decision to send freedom fighter Vasudev Balvant Phadke for a life imprisonment to Eden he was first brought and lodged at the Thane prison and later taken to Eden.

The three martyrs, Anantrao Khanhere only 17 years then, Krishnaji Gopalrao Karve, and Inayak Narayan Deshpande who assassinated the then Collector of Nashik Jackson were sentenced to death by the court. On April 19, 1910, they were hanged at the Thane Jail.

In the same case, Shankarrao Ramchandra Soman and VamanraoJoshi were sentenced to life imprisonment which they underwent in the Thane jail. Swatantra Veer Savarkar and his brother Babarao Savarkar were also lodged in the same jail.

The prison has also lodged a large number of people arrested in 1930 during the salt satyagraha started by Mahatma Gandhi. The arrested people were put in the same cell as the criminals.

But then freedom fighter Rajbandi Jatindranath started a fast in the jail demanding separation of the criminal inmates and political prisoners. He also demanded some facilities for the political prisoners lodged in the jail.

However, Jatindranath8217;s protest had no effect on the British and on the 63rd day of his fast, he died. Jatindranath8217;s death kicked up a country wide row and later the political prisoners were classified as 8220;A8221;, 8220;B8221; and 8220;C8221; class prisoners. Depending on the social and economic status, the political prisoners were allotted 8220;A8221; and 8220;B8221; class. But since there was no provision to provide facilities for Class 8220;A8221; and 8220;B8221;prisoners, they were shifted to either Nashik Road or Yeravada jail at Pune.

Hence, the jail was allotted the status of a district jail even after the country8217;s independence. It had prisoners who were convicted for life imprisonment or were undertrials or prisoners in magisterial custody.

It was only in 1972 that the jail was upgraded status-wise and converted into the Thane District Central Prison.

At present, the jail has 14 barracks and 114 cells. The capacity of the jail is 1,105 prisoners, however, the present strength on any given day in the jail is around 2,400 to 2,500.

At present, notorious gangsters Arun Gawli, Bhai Thakur and Robinson are lodged in the prison. The jail also has a couple of Annda cells where hardcore criminals are lodged. As per the information, a few foreign criminals and terrorists are also lodged in the jail.