Mid-day Exclusive: Mumbai’s most expensive bed in Arthur Road jail

At Arthur Road jail some crooked officers are getting rich by selling exclusive sleeping space to inmates at Rs 3 lakh per head alleged an undertrial who landed in hospital with a broken hand after resisting their dadagiri Because of overcrowding inmates are herded together in cells where they are forced to sleep on one anotherSikandar Shaikh the undertrialrsquos younger brother alleged that he approached the NM Joshi Marg police for action but they hushed up his complaintUndertrial inmate Iqbal with his fractured hand when he was admitted at JJ hospitalIqbal Abbas Shaikh who is imprisoned at the nearly centuryold Arthur Road jail since September 2021 in connection with a murder case had first requested a hawaldar for a proper space to sleep but was asked to pay up according to Sikandar When he argued against the alleged extortion and insisted on having the space hawaldar M K Bhoir verbally abused him Sikandar told midday Later Bhoir caned him mercilessly Sikandar said ldquoMy brother told me that he was badly baton charged on April 24 by Bhoir for no fault of hisrdquolsquoDown payment works toorsquoldquoMy brother told me that Bhoir wanted Rs 3 lakh to allow him to have a sound sleep at the barrack When Iqbal told him that he cannot pay up Bhoir asked him to give a down payment of Rs 25000 and transfer the rest of the amount onlineldquoThe assault was so brutal that he sustained grievous injuries in his right hand but none of the prison officers bothered to get him medical treatment for the next two daysrdquo he addedWhen his pain did not subside Iqbal on April 26 went to ldquothe hospital doctor who referred him to JJ hospital After I was informed by the prison officers I went to visit him at the hospital and found him with a swollen handrdquo Sikandar saidSikandar Shaikh the brother of centre Iqbal ShaikhIqbal underwent surgery on May 2 as the bones of the little finger and the wrist of his right hand were fractured ldquoLater he was shifted to the prisonrsquos medical ward where he stayed until May 18rdquo said Sikandar On May 27 Iqbal handed him a threepage complaint written in Hindi Sikandar saidldquoThe prison staff of Arthur Road jail has been blatantly selling bedding space for sound sleep at the barrack One needs to pay R2 to R3 lakh for a comfortable space to sleep at the barrack Instead of letting the inmate whose turn it is to sleep in the comfortable space the slot is allotted to whoever greases the palm of the prison staff I have all the clinching evidence to substantiate my claims If an officer from the human rights commission visits me at the prison I will give my statementrdquo reads the letterIqbal asked Sikandar to submit the letter to the National Human Rights Commission Maharashtra chief minister ADG Prisons Maharashtra and Dindoshi sessions court ldquoBut I could not submit it as I am illiterate and do not know what to do and where to gordquo Sikandar lamented Those who pay up have about a 6X6foot space secure till they get bail which is a maximum of three monthsCops hushing up matterldquoMy brother had also asked me to call the NM Joshi Marg police station to register a complaint I dialled the landline number and an officer answered who said that the seniors are aware of the incident and an officer will visit Arthur Road jail for a thorough investigation But my brother later told me that no one had visited for any inquiryrdquo he saidThe Xray of Iqbalrsquos fractured handSikandar then visited the police station on May 31 with a written complaint ldquoI met the senior inspector Sunil Chandramore who called PSI Sagar Parkale When Parkale was asked about my brotherrsquos case he did not give a valid response A few minutes later Parkale visited Arthur Road jail and returned only to tell me to convince my brother to ask for better facilities like better food and bedding spacerdquo he saidldquoInstead of registering an FIR against the corrupt officers the NM Joshi Marg police are trying to hushup the matterrdquo he added When contacted Chandramore said ldquoHe Iqbal was not assaulted by any prison staff instead it was an infighting between two inmates over clothesrdquo When asked if any statement was recorded in connection with the alleged assault in April PSI Parkale said ldquoWe are investigating the matter at present and no statement has been recorded till daterdquoHow the sale happensA source from the prison also told midday that all the barracks are overcrowded and inmates have no room to even stretch their legs while sleeping ldquoThe situation is horrible in the jail If any inmate wakes up in the middle of the night to go to the loo there is no space for him to return to sleep Then people have to spend the rest of the night near the unbearably stinky toiletrdquo the source addedSI Sunil Chandramore who allegedly ignored his complaint PicsNimesh DaveAnother source added ldquoLike Bollywood movies the oldest inmate is made the leader of the barrack and he is called lsquoJawabdarrsquo Inmates have to go to the lsquoJawabdarrsquo with requests for a sleeping space He then conveys the message to prison staff who demand money from the person who made the requestrdquoldquoThe charges vary from inmates to inmates and case to case If inmates are wealthy they are charged up to Rs 6 lakh The inmate who pays for the facilities at the barrack gets special treatment like being able to get past the queue for bathing eating etcrdquo the source said ldquoThe capacity of Arthur Road jail is merely 804 but there are over 3500 inmates here at presentrdquo the source addedlsquoAllegations warrant actionrsquoTrivankumar Karnani a criminal litigation lawyer at the Bombay High Court said ldquoTime and again such complaints have surfaced in the public domain The ADG Prisons and Correctional Services must launch an inquiry The allegations show not only a flagrant abuse of power but a manifest violation of the human rights guaranteed under the Constitution of India fundamental principles of justice fair treatment and human dignity that underpin our legal system Every individual within our society regardless of their current legal status is entitled to be treated with respect and human dignity If these allegations are confirmed it will represent a dark and deeply troubling moment in our criminal justice historyrdquo