German Bakery blast convict Himayat Baig, in a letter, has alleged that he was the victim of a lethal assault by his inmates at the city’s high security Yerwada jail where he is lodged since December last year.
The Yerwada police, however, has categorically rejected Baig’s claim, who says “he barely survived the assault” in his letter addressed to city-based activist and president of the Mulniwasi Muslim Manch, Anjum Inamdar.
Baig’s father, Mirza Himayat Baig, accompanied by members of the Manch, had submitted a complaint to authorities at the Yerwada police station on Sunday requesting an investigation into the alleged assault in the high-security Anda Cell in Yerwada prison and protection for the jailed Baig.
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In his complaint, the elder Mr. Baig said that both he and his son had opposed the anti-terrorism squad’s (ATS) decision to shift Himayat Baig from the Arthur Road Jail in Mumbai to Yerwada jail in Pune as they feared a threat to his life.
The letter draws an analogy between Indian Mujahideen (IM) operative Mohammad Qateel Siddiqui, who was killed by his co-inmate, gangster Sharad Mohol in Yerawada jail in 2012.
Baig’s father has alleged that their family has received no communication from Himayat ever since he was moved to Pune on December 6 last year as opposed to an almost fortnightly communication from him during his tenure in the Arthur Road prison. Biag’s family has hinted that the jail authorities were not allowing Himayat’s letters to pass through.
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Speaking to The Hindu , Mr. Inamdar said that Yerwada prison authorities had informed the Manch that they had duly taken note of the complaint lodged by Baig’s father and that after visiting Himayat, had failed to find any traces of assault on his body.
According to V.T. Sonde, police inspector (crime), Yerwada, prison authorities had denied such an assault, while stating that as a consequence, an FIR could not be lodged in this case.