Shetye murder: Chargesheet filed against six accused

Over two-and-a-half months after six staffers of Byculla women’s jail were arrested for the alleged murder of inmate Manjula Shetye, the Mumbai police filed a 990-page chargesheet against six accused, detailing their part in the incident that led to Shetye’s death on June 23. The chargesheet includes CCTV footage from inside the prison on the day of the incident. An official said that in the footage, the six staffers can be seen dragging Shetye by her hair from her first-floor barrack to the ground floor where she was allegedly assaulted.

“In the footage, one can also see the accused bringing back Shetye to her barrack after the assault. One of the accused also had a stick in her hand, which she is seen trying to hide behind her back to evade the cameras on the first floor,” the official said.

Further, the footage also shows that though a magistrate had visited the prison on the day of the incident, the visit lasted 10-15 minutes. “The magistrate is seen going to the first floor barracks where Shetye was lodged. The magistrate is seen returning to the ground floor within less than a minute,” said the official.

The accused in their defence during their remand stage had disputed the allegations of assault by claiming that the magistrate had visited the premises on June 23 and spoken to several inmates, but none had mentioned the incident.

The chargesheet filed before the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate’s court on Tuesday afternoon also includes 182 witness statements, including 97 women co-inmates of Shetye. Manisha Pokharkar, Sheetal Shegaonkar, Arti Shinghane, Bindu Naykode, Surekha Kakad and Vasima Shaikh have been booked for charges, including murder, criminal conspiracy, destruction of evidence, criminal intimidation and common intent under the IPC.

The chargesheet also includes the statement of a woman inmate arrested in a corruption case. The woman had also narrated the incident during her regular court hearing in June claiming that she had seen Shetye being asked to accompany them by the six jail staffers. She had also told the court that she had heard Shetye shouting for help and about her deteriorating condition to her eventual transfer to JJ hospital. The witness has also spoken about the lathicharge on the inmates the next day when they began protesting after having learnt about Shetye’s death.

Apart from the statements of inmates, including Sheena Bora murder case prime accused Indrani Mukerjea, the chargesheet also includes statements of NGO workers present in the prison premises at that time. “Shetye was brought to the ground floor and assaulted behind closed doors in a room adjacent to the one allotted to NGOs coming into the prison. The witnesses include the NGO workers and others on the ground floor who had heard Shetye screaming while being assaulted,” the official said.

The chargesheet also includes the inquest panchnama conducted on June 24 prepared by the tehsildar. The panchnama conducted has stated that there were no injuries to Shetye except some marks seen on her hands. The chargesheet also includes the post-mortem report conducted within an hour of the panchnama, which however, notes that at least 14 injuries were found on Shetye’s body.