MUMBAI: An inmate of the Byculla women's prison here told a court Wednesday that she saw prison officials assaulting convict Manjula Shetye, who died in a hospital last June.
Manisha Pokharkar, who was the jailer then, and five other staff members are facing trial for Shetye's murder.
Shetye (45), a life convict, died on June 23 last year after she was allegedly beaten up by the jail staff for failing to account for two eggs and five loaves of bread which she was supposed to distribute to other inmates.
The prison staff claimed she died due to poor health, but an inmate lodged a complaint two days later alleging that Shetye had been beaten up mercilessly inside the jail.
One of the cellmates of Shetye, Bhagyashri Mandavkar, deposed as a prosecution witness before Additional Sessions Judge Shayana Patil Wednesday.
She identified all six accused -- Pokharkar, Bindu Naikode, Wasima Shaikh, Shital Shegokar, Surekha Gavle and Arti Shingne -- as the ones who had assaulted Shetye.
She described Shetye as an amiable woman. Pokharkar behaved in a high-handed manner, imposing her own rules on inmates, Mandavkar said.
On June 23, 2017, when the inmates were having food, she saw Shingne dragging Shetye by hair and pushing her inside her cell, Mandavkar said. Then other accused staff members came to the cell and assaulted Shetye, she said.
They warned other inmates that they will meet the same fate if they tried to help Shetye, Mandavkar claimed. The hearing will continue on December 26.