A day after 800 inmates at Aadharwadi jail went on a daylong hunger strike, the authorities assured them yesterday that their demands would be met and they would be served better food and would not be harassed
A day after 800 inmates at Aadharwadi jail went on a daylong hunger strike, the authorities assured them yesterday that their demands would be met and they would be served better food and would not be harassed. On Wednesday, the prisoners did not accept food or water until the next morning to protest against the poor quality of food and the harassment they were facing under the pretext of surprise checks.
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Cops conduct surprise inspections in Adharwadi jail almost regularly, where they allegedly ask the prisoners to remove their clothes
On most days, inspections take place every two hours, along with random checks. Inspections have been increased since two mobile phones were found in circle number 7 of the jail on August 17. The jail is divided into several circles, which are further divided into four barracks that accommodate over 100 inmates. The inmates of circle 7 were joined by those in circle 3 in the protest, after which the jail superintendent, Suhas Pawar, met around 10 of them last morning. On August 17, the IG (Prison) ordered a surprise search of the jail, upon which two mobiles were recovered from barrack number 4 of circle 7.
“Both the mobiles were found in the same barrack but in different locations. But Shamsher Khan Pathan, the circle in-charge did not register any case,” said Zuber Shaikh, a social worker who found out about the case recently. He further said that the inmates, most of whom are murder accused, lodged the protest to apprise the authorities of the harassment they had to face after the phones were found.
A relative of one of the inmates shared that during these checks, prisoners are also asked to remove their clothes. “The authorities misplace the belongings of the inmates, which lead to fights. Moreover, there are regular disputes among the inmates as they stay cramped up all the time,” added the relative. While Suhas Pawar could not be reached for comment, Maharashtra Additional Directorate General of Police said that the matter is being looked into. “I have asked Inspector General, Prisons (Mumbai) Rajvardhan Sinha to find out about the issue,” said Bhushan Kumar Upadhyay, state ADG of Police.
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