Jailed NCP MLA wants to raise death of inmate in Assembly

Mumbai: Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Ramesh Kadam, who was arrested for misappropriation of fund in Anna Bhau Sathe Prathishtan, has moved the Bombay high court seeking permission to attend the state Assembly session to raise the issue of the death of Byculla women’s prison inmate Manju Shetye.

Shetye died on June 23 after allegedly being assaulted by six prison officials. The court will hear the matter on Wednesday.

Kadam’s lawyer Rajeev Chavan filed the writ petition in the court, which stated that Kadam is a sitting MLA from Mohol constituency and has been lodged in Byculla jail for the past 23 months.

Kadam claims he witnessed the entire incident that led to Shetye’s death. Earlier, Kadam had given his statements to the crime branch spelling out the entire sequence as to how six women jail officials allegedly thrashed Shetye and how she died.

Now, Kadam wants to raise this issue before the State Assembly and has accordingly sought one week’s bail.

In his petition, Kadam has said he is an eyewitness to the destruction of the weapons and articles used in assaulting Shetye.

He submitted that after the death of Shetye, four male inmates were released by the police to clean Shetye’s bloodstains.

The inmates had also thrown the wooden stick used by the accused of the said murder in a dustbin, he said.

“The petitioner has a duty towards the public to raise his voice regarding their development for representing them in the House and similarly wants to record his statement as a witness to the disappearance and destruction of the weapons and articles used in the custodial death of Shetye. The petitioner wants to move a resolution in the Assembly and call the attention of other law makers on this issue,” his petition reads.

It further said, “The petitioner has witnessed and continues to witness the arbitrary discharge of executive power by the jail authorities, which has reached a point where it is hard to distinguish as to whether they are serving the citizens of this country or if they are serving their criminal cravings.”

Kadam has also claimed that if he were not allowed to attend the sessions, there would be an “irreparable loss” to the public at large.