Indrani Mukerjea, prime accused in the Sheena Bora murder case, instigated inmates of a women's jail here for rioting after the death of a convict, an official from the prison department said today.
The 44-year-old former media executive was among nearly 200 inmates of the Byculla Jail booked by Nagpada police for rioting and other offences after they staged a protest over the death of a convict, Manju Govind Shette.
Shette (45) died at the government-run J J Hospital on Friday night after allegedly being beaten up by a woman official of the jail.
The next day, enraged women inmates rose in protest, some of them went up to the prison's roof, while others made a bonfire of newspapers and documents inside the premises to express their anger, a police official said.
The inmates alleged that Shette was mercilessly beaten up by the woman prison official which led to her death.
Indrani "instigated" the inmates by asking them to shun food and "use their children as shields" when prison staffers tried to stop them from agitating and gathering without permission, the department official said.
During the investigation, it was found that she played an "active" role in the protest staged by the women inmates, he said.
Meanwhile, six jail staffers have been placed under suspension and the police registered a case under IPC section 302 (punishment for murder) against them yesterday.
Indrani, lodged in the prison after her arrest in August 2015, and the other inmates were booked for rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on public servant and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code, a police official said.
The jail houses around 251 inmates.
Indrani, her former husband Sanjeev Khanna and ex-driver Shyamvar Rai, are accused of killing 24-year-old Sheena- Indrani's daughter from a previous relationship - on April 24, 2012.
Activist-advocate Aabha Singh said the reaction of the prisoners was spontaneous and they had only exercised their right to demonstrate like everyone else.
"Everybody is equally at fault," Singh said when asked about the demonstration inside the jail premises.
She said there was rampant human rights violations and corruption in prisons, adding "we badly need jail reforms".
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