Counsel for Malegaon blast key accused Sadhvi Pragnya Singh Thakur on Monday alleged harsh treatment by the police authorities a day after she was taken to Dewas, Madhya Pradesh, to be produced before the magistrate there in connection with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh activist Sunil Joshi murder case.
Rameshwar Gite, the Sadhvi's counsel in the special Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) court here, alleged that the Byculla women's prison jailer sent her by second class of the Mumbai-Indore Awantika Express despite knowing that her medical condition was not good. He said the Sadhvi had been suffering from back-related ailments.
Medical check-up
But the jail authorities claimed that she was being regularly checked in the prison by doctors, and they did not find it necessary to send her by air or by first class in the train. Inspector-General, Prisons, Surendra Kumar said: “She was taken to Dewas with proper security measures. We did not find it necessary to send her by first class.” He said she was shifted to the Byculla prison after being kept in hospitals for months only after she was found to be fit.
But Mr. Gite told The Hindu : “She was very unwell on Sunday when the police were to take her to Dewas. Considering her medical condition, we had requested the jail authorities to take her to Dewas by air. They said they would take her in a first class air-conditioned coach. We had also volunteered to pay the cost of the ticket.”
“She could not even stand properly due to her back pain. She also had high fever, but there was no medical attendant with her. On Monday she had to be taken to the district hospital for treatment as she was suffering from high fever and vomiting, after which she was taken to the court in an ambulance,” he said.
“Their treatment towards Sadhvi has been very harsh and in violation of basic human rights. We had written two letters to the jailer on April 8 and 23, seeking the officials' attention to the Sadhvi's medical condition and requesting the jailer to take her by air,” he said.
The special MCOCA court had left it to the discretion of the jailer to decide on the mode of transport for the Sadhvi while instructing that she not be taken by road due to her medical condition.
