Another complaint against tainted Thane jail chief

The chief of Thane Jail doesn't seem to have learnt his lesson even after he nearly got shunted out in disgrace a few months ago, after an anonymous complaint revealed his corrupt practices. Instead, he is now allegedly trying to terrorise his juniors into silence. Unfortunately for him, this has had exactly the opposite effect, and prompted a constable to file a fresh complaint against him.

Constable Shrikant Thakre and Thane jail chief Hiralal Jadhav

Shrikant Thakre, a 28-year-old constable attached to Thane Central Jail has alleged that prison superintendent Hiralal Jadhav threatened him just for doing his job honestly. The three-page letter was addressed to Inspector General (IG) of Police Rajvardhan Sinha, who confirmed, "I received a complaint from the constable and we are looking into the matter."

Thakre has been attached to the Thane jail since 2012. In his letter to the IG, he stated that he has a spotless record and has always done his job sincerely. Recently, during a visit by the IG's office, Jadhav had asked him to share some records about the custodial death of one of the inmates, Robert Almeda, in 1996. Thakre shared the details of the 11 inmates who witnessed the death. But after the officials left, Jadhav abused him and accused him of being overenthusiastic in sharing information with senior cops.

Jadhav allegedly said, "I have co-operated with you but you create problems in everything. But this time, I will see to it that you are dealt with properly. If you think I will not do anything then ask the constables at Kolhapur jail what I did when I was posted there. I will do worse to you."

Thakre also alleged that Jadhav has links with well-known criminals and often grants undue privileges to inmates. He further claimed that Jadhav might try to harm him through his criminal connections.

‘Punishment duty'
In fear for his life and job, Thakre wrote to the IG on August 12 to complain about Jadhav. True to his word, Jadhav posted Thakre on punishment duty the very next day, said sources. "He was asked to stand in a corner of the prison and keep guard there. No one had ever been posted at that spot before, and Thakre stood there for six hours in the morning and then four hours in the evening," said an insider.

Five staffers have been questioned in the matter so far. Two constables, Satish Jumble and Santosh Mulik, confirmed Thakre's allegations against Jadhav.

However, sources said that when IG Sinha visited the prison yesterday, he discovered that Thakre's records are also tainted. When mid-day contacted Thakre, all he said was, "I don't want to comment on the case. I trust the senior authorities to take quick action."

The other side
SP Jadhav told mid-day, "Who am I to threaten him? It is a small issue and all the staff was present at the time of the incident. We collected all the records and kept it. He took a photocopy and gave it to them, which is not done. I also spoke with my superior officer about this. The allegations are baseless."

Another constable files a complaint
Another complaint had been filed against SP Hiralal Jadhav last month by Thane jail constable Deepak Tudme. He alleged that Jadhav did not take any step to help him even though an inmate had threatened him in jail. He stated that the prisoner Arif Shaikh (key accused who allegedly provided logistical support to the shooters in the Navi Mumbai builder Sunil Lahoria's murder case) threatened to harm him outside the prison. Shaikh is said to be a close aide of encounter specialist Emmanuel Amolik. However, during the inquiry, Tudme's allegations were declared false as no one supported his claim. mid-day attempted to contact Tudme, but he was unavailable.

Flashback: 5-star facilities in Thane jail
mid-day had on May 25 reported that SP Hiralal Jadhav was accused of corrupt practices at Thane jail, where he would allegedly grant undue privileges to inmates in exchange for bribes (‘5-star facilities at just R5 lakh in Thane Jail'). He would allegedly allow inmates to make calls from his phone and would also smuggle in hashish, marijuana and alcohol with the connivance of jailers. An internal inquiry report had found him guilty and recommended that he be transferred in June. However, sources said that the process was put a halt under the pretext that the complaint was anonymous.