‘Ants in oil, stones in rice; Byculla prison a hellhole’
Mumbai’s Byculla jail that hit the headlines in June following a riot by inmates, including former media entrepreneur Indrani Mukerjea, is a hellhole with pathetic living conditions and rampant abuse of rights of women prisoners.
A team of 20 MPs, all members of the parliamentary standing committee on empowerment of women, found that beatings by jail staff at the slightest provocation, disallowing meetings with family, ants in oil, stones in rice and insects in dal, unhygienic toilets, bad quality soap and sanitary napkins are among some of the glaring instances of rights violation women inmates face.
The women MPs led by BJP MP from Assam Bijoya Chakravarty, chairperson of the committee, had visited Byculla jail last month to study the conditions inside prison, following the death of a murder convict in the facility.
Thirty-eight -year-old convict Manjula Shetye died after she was brutally beaten up by jail staffers when she complained about some food items missing from the morning ration.
Six women jail staffers have been booked for the murder. Shetye’s death had triggered violent protests leading to rioting by the inmates, including Mukerjea who is accused of murdering her daughter Sheena Bora.
Sources said the women MPs who visited the jail have requested that the investigation in the prisoner’s death be handed over to the CBI as there is an attempt to cover up the incident.
The findings will be part of the report on Women in Detention & Access to Justice that the panel is finalising. The panel members have also visited other prisons across India for their report.
“The condition of women inmates is so painful. Inmates told us how they are abused verbally and physically for asking for anything, even drinking water. Torture is rampant. They have to make do with inadequate number of extremely poor quality sanitary napkins for their menstrual cycle. Asking for additional napkins results in beating,” Satabdi Roy, Trinamool MP and committee member, said.
The panel was also told about how normally just two buckets of water are given for a barrack of 50 inmates. Each inmate is given one soap a month — that too of poor quality — for bathing, washing clothes and utensils. Inmates have often complained of dry skin and itching after using the soap.
The team also found a huge backlog in the cases of undertrials. “There were inmates who have been in jail for five years without trial,” Roy said.
Many of the inmates told the MPs they are not allowed to meet their family.
“As undertrials, they do not know the charges against them. They do not have enough information about their lawyers, in cases where legal aid is provided. “We have spoken to the Maharashtra CM and have raised the issue of poor hygiene inside Byculla jail and the need to improve it. It is not only in Byculla, jails across India need reform,” Chakravarty said.
Demand for beauty products by inmates in the 11 central jails of Madhya Pradesh to help them fight wrinkles and dark spots have stumped officials.
Jail authorities asked for feedback from prisoners who expressed discontent after supplies from outside were stopped following the jailbreak by eight suspected Students Islamic Movement of India activists from the high-security Bhopal Central Jail in October last year.
The inmates made the demands verbally and also in writing to the various superintendents of central jails, which were then sent to the jail headquarters in Bhopal.
“We are surprised with the demand for face cream because usually the demand is for coconut or mustard oil. Perhaps the tastes of the inmates too are changing,” a jail official said in a lighter vein.
The other demands include bidis or tobacco, especially to facilitate their morning ablutions, and salads with their food. Some have also asked for separate buckets and bathing mugs as there aren’t enough for everyone and most of the inmates do not get to use them while bathing.
Washing powder and soaps also figure in the list of demands.
Jails in India are usually overcrowded with pathetic living conditions. Activists have often complained about rampant abuse of the rights of prisoners.