The murder of a suspected militant in the high security Yerwada prison has forced the Maharashtra Government to strengthen the security of jails in the state.
In the wake of the murder of a suspected Indian Mujahideen operative in the high security Yerwada prison, Maharashtra Government is preparing a set of directives to strengthen the security of jails in the state.
Sources in the Home Department said that the jail administration had been asked to beef up security and take preventive and corrective action if necessary. "The guidelines for new directives will be ready by this week. In view of last week's incident, we have to be cautious. The directives will be sent to jail superintendents in all the state prisons," sources added.
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According to sources, vigorous checks were required and the need to classify prisoners according to their affiliations was stressed. "Cell of the deceased Qateel Siddiqui, a suspected IM operative, named in three terror cases and that of the two accused was unguarded during the time of the incident," sources said.
Qateel was allegedly strangled to death inside the high-security Yerwada Central Jail here by inmates, identified as Sharad Mohol and Amol Bhalerao on June 8. The state government promptly acted by suspending Jail Superintendent S V Khatavkar and ordering a CID probe into the murder.
26-year-old Siddiqui was named in Bangalore stadium blast, Delhi Jama Masjid firing case and an abortive attempt to bomb a temple in Pune. He had been remanded to judicial custody by a local court in a case filed by Maharashtra ATS, in which, he was accused of attempting to plant a bomb at the famous Shrimant Dagdusheth Halwai Ganpati Temple in the heart of Pune in 2010.u00a0