Three important central jails in Maharashtra, including the Arthur Road jail in Mumbai, do not have a superintendent. Sources told The Hindu that the posts of superintendent are vacant at the Arthur Road central jail as well as Thane and Taloja jails.
At present lodged in all three prisons are accused in high-profile cases and members of the criminal underworld. While deputy superintendents are overseeing Thane and Taloja central jails, the Arthur Road jail is being overseen by an additional superintendent.
High security jail
The Arthur Road jail is a high-security prison. Currently lodged there are 26/11 accused Zabiuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal and 1993 bomb blasts accused Mustafa Dossa. History-sheeters D K Rao and Abu Salem are lodged at the Taloja central jail. Both the jails have seen several instances of violence between high-profile prisoners. Salem was attacked by Dossa in 2010, after which Salem was moved to Taloja.
In 2013, Salem was again attacked by Shahid Azmi murder accused Devendra Jagtap, after which Jagtap was shifted to another prison.
Superintendent held
Arthur Road jail superintendent Vasudev Bhurkule was arrested by the Maharashtra Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) while allegedly accepting a bribe last year. He was replaced by superintendent U T Pawar, who was transferred from Thane central jail, where the position is still lying vacant. Mr. Pawar was later transferred as superintendent of Yerawada central jail this year, and no replacement at Arthur Road has been made yet, said the sources.
Meanwhile, Shivaji Achme retired from his post as the head of Taloja jail around six months ago. Another officer was given additional charge of his post for a short while, but the post, too, is vacant at present.
When contacted, Inspector General of Police (Prisons) Bipin Kumar Singh said, “The work at Thane and Taloja is being effectively handled by the deputy superintendents there, and we have an additional superintendent to take care of the Arthur Road jail. The recruitment and the postings are done by the government.”
