Court records statement of prisoner in scuffle case

Mumbai, Jul 7 (UNI) A special MCOCA court today recorded the statement of an undertrial prisoner as witness into last month's scuffle between at least 40 accused lodged in Arthur Road jail under various cases and jail authorities for allegedly resisting their transfer to other prisons in Maharashtra.

Maharashtra Control for Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) judge Y D Shinde, presiding over 7/11 serial train bomb blasts, Aurangabad haul seizure and Malegaon blast case recorded the statement of Abdul Sheikh as witness in the scuffle.

Defence advocate Shahid Azami said Sheikh, in his statement, has stated that on June 28 he heard some noise from adjoining barracks.

So he came out and saw that co-undertrial prisoner, Jahid and Abdul, had sustained injuries.

On Friday last, Azmi had moved an application before Judge Shinde, praying for judicial inquiry into the incident. He has also appealed to record the statements and evidences of accused and issue an order to produce all the accused in the court without further delay.

On June 28, a scuffle broke out between at least 40 accused, allegedly involved in July 11, 2006 serial train bomb blasts, Malegaon blast and arms and ammunition seizure case of Aurangabad, and Arthur Road jail authorities while they were being transferred to prisons in the state. The inmates were being transferred to Nagpur, Ratnagiri and Kolhapur prisons by the jail authority.

At that time, when some of the accused demanded to show them the court order and resisted their move, the jail authorities had to use force to transfer them, in which they suffered injuries.

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