Manjula Shettye murder case: Mumbai Crime Branch submits 990-page chargesheet against jailors

The Mumbai Crime Branch on Tuesday submitted a 990 page-long chargesheet in the Manjula Shettye murder case.

Investigating officer Prabha Raul submitted the chargesheet after almost three months of investigation in the case. According to the chargesheet that is yet to be handed over to the accused, there is no evidence related to the alleged sexual assault on Manjula.

In the chargesheet, a total of 182 statements of witnesses have been recorded by investigators. Out of these, 97 statements are those of the jail inmates. The CCTV footage of the jail that was given to the investigators by jail authorities is a part of the chargesheet. Sheena Bora murder accused Indrani Mukerjea's statement has also been recorded, although the case does not really bank on her version as she was not an eyewitness to Manjula being beaten up by the accused jailors.

Another corruption accused and a Byculla jail inmate Vaishali Mudale's statement has also been recorded by the crime branch. Mudale had earlier told a local court how Shettye had been working with her in the morning inside jail but was later taken away by the accused jail officials, after which only cries of Manjula being beaten up were heard.

Apart from Byculla jailor Manisha Pokharkar, jail guards Bindu Naikode, Waseema Shaikh, Sheetal Shegaokar, Surekha Gudve and Aarti Shingane have also been arrested in the case. The accused officials have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code like murder, destruction of evidence, criminal conspiracy, criminal intimidation and common intention of committing murder.

After the magistrate at Esplanade court takes cognisance of the chargesheet, the accused will be given copies. The accused had filed for bail earlier. The bail hearing was adjourned as the sessions court was told that Shettye, a murder convict, had served over 10 years in jail and had been transferred to Byculla jail from Pune's Yerwada Jail this year before she was to complete her sentence. Manjula was appointed as the jail warden and she was declared dead on admission at the JJ Hospital on June 23. Jail inmates alleged that she was beaten up brutally by jail officials.