MPs demand panel to probe conditions in jails

The fatal assault of murder convict Manjula Shetye inside Byculla jail of Mumbai by jail officials today figured in the Rajya Sabha, with members demanding setting up of a committee to go into the conditions of jails across the country.
Raising the issue through a Zero Hour mention, Vandana Chavan (NCP) said Shetye was beatn by the jailer and five constables of the jail after she complained of missing eggs and bread from her breakfast.
Inmate witnesses have stated that lathi was inserted in her private parts but this was not revealed in the post- mortem report, indicating a cover-up, she claimed.

A DIG who had gone to investigate the incident was also removed after she tried to get witnesses to water down their statements, she claimed.
Shetye was hit on the head and left bleeding. She was taken to the hospital only when she fell unconscious in the evening, Chavan said and demanded that a committee be constituted to look into human rights of jail inmates.
Her submission was seconded by several MPs of the opposition.
Vishambhar Prasad Nishad (SP) raised the issue of sand prices in Uttar Pradesh rising 10 times to Rs 4000 per cubic meter, making construction of toilets, roads and houses impossible.

Development work has been stalled in the state because of the spike in sand prices, he said.