Twenty Parliamentarians visited the Byculla women’s jail on Thursday. Express photo by Ganesh Shirsekar
A team of 20 women Parliamentarians visited the Byculla jail on Thursday, following the alleged custodial death of convict Manjula Shetye and the riot that broke out in the prison after it. The team will submit its report before the Parliament.
“In the last one year, we have been visiting prisons across the country to study the conditions of jails in India and the condition of the women inmates lodged there. The Thursday visit was provoked by Shetye’s death and the riots that ensued. We interacted with the prisoners for over an hour,”said MP Vandana Chavan.
“I am not in a position to divulge what the inmates told us, but it will be mentioned in our report which we will submit to the Parliament soon,” Chavan added.
Chavan said whatever she heard and saw was “very disturbing”. The team also interacted with the jail staff.
The panel includes DMK’s Kanimozhi, TMC’s Shatabdi Roy and NCP’s Supriya Sule. The MPs committee for empowerment of women is likely to prepare a report on women in detention and access to justice based on their interaction. Officials said that since prisons are a state subject, the panel can only make recommendations.
