Author: Prafulla Marpakwar
Publication: The Times of India
Date: July 5, 2008
Nearly a week after around 40 inmates clashed
with policemen posted at the Arthur Road jail over their transfer to other
prisons, the jail authorities said the accused raised pro-Pakistan slogans
before attacking them while being shifted.
"The inmates-who have been named as accused
in serious cases like the 7/11 train bombings, Malegaon blast and Aurangabad
arms haul-raised slogans like 'Pakistan zindabad, India murdabad' before attacking
us,'' a senior jail official told TOI on Friday.
The incident happened on June 28, when the
authorities decided to shift 37 inmates to jails in Kolhapur, Nagpur, Kalyan,
Ratnagiri and other places as the Arthur Road prison was overcrowded and the
hearing in most of their cases came after a month. When the accused heard
about their transfer, they got furious.
"They refused to go and clashed with
the police. When some constables were asked to take the inmates outside where
police vans were waiting, a few inmates attacked the personnel,'' said a source.
The official said a comprehensive report on
the slogans raised by the jail inmates has been submitted to the N M Joshi
Marg police station and home department for appropriate action. "It's
a serious matter. Officials of the N M Joshi Marg police station are expected
to investigate it and take necessary action,'' the official said.
While the state government is yet to take
a note of the report submitted by the Arthur Road jail authorities, it has
maintained that Pakistan's ISI was involved in the 7/11 train blasts.
The state home department has submitted a
report to the Centre saying that entire plan was hatched in Pakistan. In fact,
it was decided to exchange specific information on the 7\11 blast case with
Pakistan during the secretary level meeting of Pakistan and India. However,
the plan fizzled out after Pakistan denied its involvement in the train blast.
- prafull.marpawkar@timesgroup.com
