Mumbai, Apr 10: The Mumbai Police have raised objection to six police cooks being moved to Arthur Road Jail “illegally'' for Ajmal Kasab and seven jailors, according to media reports.
This action has come at a time when the Nagpada Police Hospital and the Quick Response Teams (QRTs) have apparently been struggling without a cook, the reports said.
The irregular transfer of cooks came to light during an internal review of the police's staff deployment and orders were issued by the police top brass on Monday for them to be immediately returned to their original postings.
“During the review it was found that three years ago, a head cook and two cooks of Mumbai Police, Jyotiram Satar, Krishna Turaskar and Jagdish Shetty, were inexplicably moved to Arthur Road Jail from Naigaon, Worli and Tardeo. They were made to prepare food for Kasab as well as seven jailors who were on deputation,” said a senior Mumbai Police officer, who did not wish to be named.
“Pandurang Gavde, Amre and Hazare were shifted to the jail for the same purpose. Each time they went into the jail, they were forced to stay there for 10 to 15 days.”
Mumbai Police Commissioner Arup Patnaik on Monday issued orders for the cooks to be returned immediately to their original postings, stating they were “illegally'' moved to Arthur Road Jail to feed Kasab and the jailors by the then jail superintendent Swati Sathe with the knowledge of an additional commissioner of police in the city. The CP also highlighted that the Nagpada Police Hospital and the QRTs were suffering without a single cook.
Despite attempts to reach her, Sathe — who is currently posted in Pune — was not available for comment. Patnaik, too, was unwilling to comment.
“The prisons department and Mumbai Police are separate entities and the jail officer had no authority to shift the cooks. This should have been done only with the sanction of the Mumbai Police Commissioner,” said a senior police officer.
The memo also makes it evident that the police have taken strong exception to the manner in which the cooks were confined to the prison, “which amounts to violation of their human rights”.
IG (Prisons) Surender Kumar said, “The cooks were taken keeping in mind the security threat to Kasab. We could not allow any outsider to prepare food for him. But the cooks were not illegally confined. There are certain security restrictions that prevent us from allowing a person to enter and leave the jail at short intervals repeatedly.”
Latest India News
