Inmate ‘sodomised’ but no action from jail bosses or cops

Arthur Road prison is in the soup for the third time this month A man has alleged that his 24yearold son imprisoned in a POCSO case was sexually assaulted by two inmates ldquoThey first badly thrashed him inside the toilet and then took turns to sodomise himrdquo said the father from his hometown in UP Neither the jail officers nor the local NM Joshi Marg police have taken any action said the alleged victimrsquos lawyerThe inmate who has been allegedly sexually assaulted in Arthur Road jail is facing a case under the Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Bill POCSO Act ldquoMy son was arrested on April 17 by Bhandup police in connection with a rape case He has been falsely implicated in the case and imprisonedrdquo said the fatherAdvocate Sakhib Coatwala PicNimesh DavePreviously On June 1 midday exposed the alleged cashforbed racket run by jail officers Days later gangster Ejaz Lakdawala claimed to have seen businessmen Rakesh and Sarang Wadhawans who are lodged at Arthur Road jail having a ball at the court premises in the absence of their presiding officerThe alleged sexual assault happened during the predawn hours of June 10 and the accused inmates have been identified as Rashid Hasan Faras and Kudi The father said it was his sonrsquos advocate Sakhib Coatwala who informed him about the assault following a meeting with himThe NM Joshi Marg police said they are probing the matter PicAtul KambleldquoI am a poor man and have no strength to fight my sonrsquos case Now his safety is at stake as the prison officers failed to safeguard him How did this despicable act take place on their watch I have been told that they accused inmates are very close to the jail superintendent which is why no case is being registeredrdquo the father told middayFaras who has been lodged in the jail for over four years in connection with an NDPS case ldquois a lsquoJawabdarrsquo of barrack number 6 as he is the oldest prisoner there So no one can dare to touch him in the barrackrdquo said a source from the prison midday had previously reported citing sources how lsquojawabdarsrsquo are the righthand men of the prison staffThe father who is engaged in farming for livelihood said ldquoOn June 9 I received a call from a prison staff member who asked something related to my sonrsquos case as his hearing is scheduled on June 12 I have been told that the accused inmates were taken out for a court hearing on June 9 They were intoxicated I donrsquot know what went wrong after they returned to jail in the eveningrdquolsquoHelp my sonrsquoldquoIf the prison staff canrsquot keep my son safe then they should set him free immediately as he is in pain and I am helpless He deserves immediate medical treatmentldquoThe Maharashtra government must ensure my sonrsquos safety and legal action must be taken against both the accused and the prison staff members forsuppressing the sensitive matterrdquo said the aggrieved fatherNo FIRAdvocate Coatwala told midday ldquoThe incident took place around 3 am on June 10 when everyone was asleep Faras and Kudi picked up a fight with my client and then gagged him They then sodomised him and forced him to perform an unnatural act after threatening him with dire consequences The incident took place inside the toiletrdquoldquoMy client told me that he complained to PSI Vijay Kumar Kasbe who is incharge of the Circle on the morning of June 10 but after he narrated his ordeal to PSI Kasbe the accused duo assaulted him againrdquo Coatwala addedldquoInstead of taking any action against the accused duo PSI Kasbe shifted my client to another barrack Since Faras is the Jawabdar of his barrack he is a close aide of PSI Kasbe This is the reason why no legal action has been taken against the offenders and all the prison staff members are trying to suppress the matterrdquo he addedldquoAs my client hails from Uttar Pradesh he is being pressured by the prison authorities to remain silent on the incident He is in deep pain and his life is in dangerrdquo the advocate saidThat same day on June 10 Coatwala approached the NM Joshi Marg police station with a written complaintldquoThe cops were initially not ready to accept my written complaint and were trying to get me out of the police station but I dialled the police control room number and made the onduty officer talk to them Later they just put a stamp on my complaint but filed no FIRrdquo he addedldquoThe local police station and the corrupt prison staff members always suppress the matter This is the reason why such cases are rampant at Arthur Road jailrdquo he saidInfighting Jail top copSuperintendent of Arthur Road jail Nitin Vayachal told midday the matter was of infighting among the inmates on June 8 ldquoInfighting is common and happens in all jails In this case the 24yearold inmate had informed PSI Kasbe about the infighting On the night of June 9 senior jailer Lahu Kanaskar found something amiss with the 24yearold inmate who told Kanaskar that he had been sodomised by two coprisonersrdquo VayachalldquoKanaskar recorded his statement and on June 10 the prison medical staff referred him to JJ hospital for a medical examination The report is awaitedrdquo he addedldquoSimultaneously we also wrote a complaint letter to NM Joshi Marg police station but no FIR has been registered yet as the cops are waiting for the medical reportrdquo said Vayachal who claimed that he was on leave when the incident happenedlsquoNo plaint from jailrsquoA police officer from NM Joshi Marg police station confirmed receiving a complaint from the 24yearold inmatersquos advocate ldquoOur enquiry is underway and the FIR is yet to be registeredrdquo the cop addedWhen asked about the complaint from Arthur Road jail the officer said ldquoWe have received no such complaint from the jail But we are conducting an enquiry based on the advocatersquos complaintrdquoCalls and messages to zonal Deputy Commissioner of Police Akbar Pathan went unansweredJune 10Day when the alleged assault happened in the wee hours