Mumbai: The City Civil and Sessions Court on Tuesday slated the bail hearing of the six accused in the Manjula Shette custodial death in case on August 4.
All the six accused, Bindu Naikode, Manisha Pokharkar, Wazima Sheikh, Sheetal Shegavkar, Surekha Gulwe and Aarti Shingne filed for bail on July 24; their plea states there is no evidence against them and that they have been falsely implicated in the matter.
Additionally, Tanaji Gharbudave, who was in-charge superintendent at Byculla jail on June 22 and 23, had submitted an affidavit to the Bombay High Court on Monday, which pointed out that the Metropolitan Magistrate of Vile Parle had visited the female barracks of the prison and no prisoner had made complaints of assault or any other incident. Regarding Shette’s death, it said that she had collapsed and was immediately examined by Dr. Khan, the medical officer at the prison, and and ambulance took her for further medical treatment to JJ Hospital. “I say that there is no negligence on the part of the jail authorities in the treatment of Manjula Shete,” the addidavit concluded/
Another affidavit, from the senior police inspector of Nagpada police station, said that the duty constable at the hospital had reported that Shette had been brought to JJ Hospital because she had fallen and was unconscious. “Dr Vishwas Roke declared her dead at 9.30pm prior to the admission to the hospital.”
The affidavit records the statement from jailer Manisha Pokharkar, which said that she was at the prison from 9 a.m to 6.35 p.m., and “there was no complaint to me by any prisoner or staff regarding any illness or any incident or any assault on deceased Manjula Shetye.” The death information card for Shette at the JJ Hospital, Byculla, with a time-stamp of 9 p.m., June 23, 2017, says “No obvious external injury noted.”
