Disgraced Thane jail superintendent reinstated thanks to loophole

IllustrationUday MohiteThe most controversial officer of the state prison department Hiralal Jadhav mdash who was suspended following allegations of sexual harassment corruption and extortion mdashwill now be reinstated thanks to an order from the Maharashtra Administrative Tribunal MAT This is a major setback for the prison department which is investigating the charges against Jadhav and has pushed for his removalAlso read Corrupt abusive Thane Central Jail SP Hiralal Jadhav to face the axeHiralal Jadhav had been at the centre of several controversies but would always manage to wriggle out of trouble However the tainted cop was suspended in September 2016 after middays report on allegations that he had sexually harassed a junior woman constableAlso read Get 5star facilities inside Thane jail at just Rs 5 lakhJadhavs fortunes turned on Tuesday when the MAT ordered the state to lift his suspension as the inquiry had not been completed in time As per protocol such inquiries are expected to complete in three months However since an extension of three months was granted for the inquiry MAT observed that the probe can continue while Jadhav is on duty Additional Commissioner of Police Ashwati Dorje is conducting the inquiryAlso read State prisons dept slaps fresh FIR on ex Thane central jail superintendent Hiralal JadhavThe complainant filed a molestation case with the Thane police last August She even turned in WhatsApp messages and audio clips that Jadhav had sent to her Although she had asked him not to Jadhav persisted in sending her poetry and pictures of himself He also asked her to go on long drives with himPrison officials revealed that Jadhav had been suspended in 2013 as well after he was found guilty of using abusive language and crude gestures with women officersAlso read Thane jail official gets interim bail in molestation caseHiralal Jadhav was suspended in September 2016Ugly fightThe prison department is contemplating on challenging the order in the Bombay High Court Additional Director General prisons B Upadhyay told this reporter that the department is taking legal advice and will accordingly decide the further course of actionJadhavs shenanigans have left prison authorities redfaced time and again and they are locked in an ugly fight against the erstwhile Thane Central Jail superintendentAlso read Day after middays report corrupt and abusive Thane jailer suspendedmidday had reported just last month that the department had compiled a list of 25 controversies linked to Jadhav pushing for the strictest action against him The department is currently awaiting the inquiry reportAlso read Jailor trying to kill me with lethal injection Abu SalemThe authorities suspect Jadhav is also running a smear campaign against department officials after the prison riots in Byculla jail During the riots inmate Manjula Shetye was allegedly murdered by six jail personnel Yet another controversy was sparked by the circulation of a WhatsApp message from Prison DIG Swathi Sathe who supported the six arrested jail staffersAlso read Day after middays report corrupt and abusive Thane jailer suspendedSenior officers strongly suspected Jadhav was the one circulating Sathes message He had also written to the Chief Minister alleging that Sathe was not only urging jail officials to provide moral support to their sisters but was also asking them to collect donations of Rs 500 and Rs 1000 to arrange for a defence lawyerLater Jadhav filed an intervention report in a PIL filed in the high court in connection with the Byculla jail incident seeking action against Sathe and other officials It was in response to this that the prison department attached the list of Jadhavs 25 controversiesAlso read Now Thane jailer faces sexual harassment chargeRecent developmentsA few weeks ago the office of the Inspector General of Police south prisons Byculla also sent a default report to the ADG heading the prison department recommending strictest action Recently yet another FIR was filed against Jadhav for allegedly misusing prison departments funds for fuel for his private car A senior jail official said that Jadhavs service record is full of cases of molesting and misbehaving with female staff harassing colleagues bribery abuse of power The official added that Jadhav had brought a bad name to the department hence they want strict action against himAlso read 5star treatment Devendra Fadnavis orders probe against Thane jail superintendentDespite repeated attempts to contact Jadhav he was unavailable for commentYou may also like Mumbai 12 gruesome accidents that highlight civic apathy