Seventeen undertrial prisoners (UTPs), including alleged terrorists, Dawood’s henchman and India’s most notorious carjacker lodged in different jails in Tihar Prisons here, have been directed by a Delhi court to be handcuffed during their visits to courts in and outside the National Capital and for medical checkups since they have been placed in “explosive” category of prisoners.
The 17 “explosive or high risk category” UTPs include Fazlur Rehman, an associate of Dawood’s alleged henchmnn Babloo Srivastava lodged in Jail No. 5 in Tihar; ‘carjacker’ Manoj Bakkarwala, who is lodged in Jail no. 1 and is involved in 300 cases of car theft with a record of escaping from the police thrice in the past; and alleged terrorists Ahtisham Farooq Malik and IM operative Mohd Aftab Alam.
Counsel for one of the UTPs said he would challenge the order before the Delhi High Court as the categorisation is arbitrary and the order is against the rights of all the 17 undertrials.
The court’s order came on an application filed by Assistant Commissioner of Police, Central Jail, 3 Battalion, Delhi Armed Police, which is engaged in escorting undertrials to courts for regular appearance and to all other authorised places like hospitals for treatment.
The senior officer had sought permission to “simple handcuff” the 17 UTPs while escorting them on production warrants or regular appearance before courts or visiting hospital.
“Keeping in view that the 17 UTPs are falling in the categories of high risk or explosive and there is record of previous escape from police custody of such kind of UTPs, let these 17 be produced in simple handcuff position whenever taken to different courts at Delhi or outstation courts and OPD and emergency in various hospitals in Delhi or outside Delhi,” Additional Sessions Judge Daya Prakash directed.
The Assistant Commissioner said in the application that the 17 UTPs are also to be taken outstation particularly Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir, Uttar Pradesh, Mumbai, Hyderabad, etc. It is further stated that many of the UTPs have escaped/ slipped from the lawful custody of the Delhi Police while they were being transported for court production in other States.
The 17 UTPs in the high risk category also include Zakir, Kulwinder Jeet Singh, Rustam, Md Kafeel Ahmed, Md Umer Madni, Saleem, Rajender Kumar alias Arvind Joshi, Satender, Jogender, Baljinder Singh, Miraj Ahmed, A Alam and Rishi Gupta.
