Court Allows Recall Of Eyewitnesses In Manjula Shetye Custodial Death Case

In the Manjula Shetye custodial death case, the court has allowed the plea to recall two eyewitnesses. The plea to recall the eyewitnesses – Harshada Bendre and Farzana Khan – was moved in October last year. Bendre and Khan were lodged in the Byculla prison when Shetye died allegedly after she was brutally assaulted by the prison staff on June 25, 2017 because she complained about missing breakfast rations. 

The police have arrested six officials, include jail officer Manisha Pokharkar, and constables Bindu Naikade, Waseema Shaikh, Shital Shegaonkar, Surekha Gulve and Aarti Shingne, under sections 302 (murder) and 34 (acts done by several persons in furtherance of common intention) of the Indian Penal Code.

The prosecution has claimed that Bendre and Khan, in their respective depositions, identified the accused dragging Shetye on the  staircase. They also spoke of CCTV footage, which was not shown to them by the then special public prosecutor. The footage is said to be “best piece of documentary evidence, which would have corroborated substantive evidence of both eyewitnesses…”

The plea was opposed by the defence lawyers. The court, on Thursday, allowed the plea to summon the witnesses. However, it said that the summons would be issued only after 30 days. The prosecution has so far examined 18 witnesses in the case.