A lawyer representing the six jail officials, arrested in connection with the death of Byculla prison inmate Manjula Shette, today argued that the so-called injury marks mentioned in the autopsy report had developed after the death.
A special court for women's cases here is at present hearing the bail applications filed by the accused.
Vaibhav Bhagade, the accused's lawyer, said Shette was suffering from various ailments and also had symptoms of tuberculosis.
The patches on her body developed after the death as there was a four-hour gap between inquest 'panchnama' (report) and the autopsy, and the doctors, mistakenly, termed them as "signs of injuries", he contended.
Besides, statements of witnesses contradict the FIR, and other than the complainant in the case, nobody has spoken about Shette's private parts being violated during the assault, he said.
The prosecution also tampered with the CCTV footage inside the prison, the lawyer alleged.
Shette (45), serving a life sentence, died in hospital on June 23 after she was allegedly beaten up by the jail staff for failing to account for the food items she was supposed to distribute.
Jail officials Manisha Pokharkar, Wasima Shaikh, Shital Shegokar, Surekha Gulve, Aarti Shingne and Bindu Naikade were arrested last month for assaulting Shette and causing her death.
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