Terror suspect Zabiuddinn Ansari, widely known in the press as Abu Jundal, has been on a hunger strike in Mumbai’s Arthur Road jail since August 5, demanding that he be moved from the dark, airless cell in which he has been held in solitary confinement for 33 months and rehoused anywhere else in the prison.
Ansari has been accused of being involved in several terror cases, including the Aurangabad arms haul case and 26/11 attack in Mumbai. His protest has reiterated the wretched treatment meted out to some prisoners in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail.
The effects of the hunger strike are showing rapidly on Ansari, say people familiar with his case. When he was produced in court on September 4, he could barely walk, even with the help of four people. People monitoring the situation say that he is unable to move on his own or tend to his needs. They add that he is rapidly losing his eyesight. Ironically, Ansari has been lodged in the dreaded Barrack No 12 for his own “safety and security”, the authorities say.
Ansari, who has not been convicted of any offense so far, was arrested in 2012 by the Delhi Police special cell. The police believe that he is Abu Jundal ‒ the code name of one of the people allegedly associated with the Pakistani attack on Mumbai in 2008 . The trial in that case is yet to start.
Maximum security
Barrack No 12 is a three-storey structure of re-enforced concrete, with three cells on each floor. It is shrouded by metal sheets that cut off all sunlight, making it impossible for the inmates to know whether it is night or day. A layer of copper covers the cells to block out electro- magnetic radiation, and prevent the use of cell phones and other devices.
Ansari's cell is in the furthermost most corner on the middle floor, people familiar with his case said. The cell has a thick metal door with a small door through which his food is pushed in to him. Over the past 33 months, his interaction with other people has been limited to the time the hatch is opened for his food, and his rare court appearances.
The design of Barrack No 12 violates the rules of confinement laid down in the Maharashtra prisons Act 1894, and Maharashtra Prisons (Building and Sanitary Arrangement) Rules, 1964, say people familiar with the case.
RTI findings
Most often, solitary confinement is a punishment decided by courts of law for those who are convicted. But Ansari has been placed in such a restrictive environment for his own safety, according to internal correspondence between prison official that the undertrial obtained through Right to Information requests.
In December 2012, a few months after Ansari was lodged in Arthur Jail, Swati Sathe, the Deputy Inspector General of prisons, wrote to the jailor of Arthur Road prisons saying, “For reasons of safety and security as there are other terrorists and gangsters in the jail, you are directed to keep Mr. Zabiuddin Ansari away from other prisoners…”
Though no specific incident of violence or gang rivalry was listed as the reason for the letter, a few days later jail authorities sent a compliance letter. A similar letter was also written by Amitesh Kumar, the Additional Police Commissioner of the Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad in February 2013 directing the jailor to keep Ansari away from other prisoners.
Three months later, Mumbai Police Commissioner Satya Pal Singh wrote to the Home Department of the Maharashtra government seeking an exemption from Ansari being produced in court for hearings. The letter states;
Over the next two years, two separate petitions attempting to challenge such orders were summarily dismissed by the High Court.
Sharib Ali coordinates research at the non-profit Quill Foundation. He can be reached at sharibkmc@gmail.com
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Ansari has been accused of being involved in several terror cases, including the Aurangabad arms haul case and 26/11 attack in Mumbai. His protest has reiterated the wretched treatment meted out to some prisoners in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail.
The effects of the hunger strike are showing rapidly on Ansari, say people familiar with his case. When he was produced in court on September 4, he could barely walk, even with the help of four people. People monitoring the situation say that he is unable to move on his own or tend to his needs. They add that he is rapidly losing his eyesight. Ironically, Ansari has been lodged in the dreaded Barrack No 12 for his own “safety and security”, the authorities say.
Ansari, who has not been convicted of any offense so far, was arrested in 2012 by the Delhi Police special cell. The police believe that he is Abu Jundal ‒ the code name of one of the people allegedly associated with the Pakistani attack on Mumbai in 2008 . The trial in that case is yet to start.
Maximum security
Barrack No 12 is a three-storey structure of re-enforced concrete, with three cells on each floor. It is shrouded by metal sheets that cut off all sunlight, making it impossible for the inmates to know whether it is night or day. A layer of copper covers the cells to block out electro- magnetic radiation, and prevent the use of cell phones and other devices.
Ansari's cell is in the furthermost most corner on the middle floor, people familiar with his case said. The cell has a thick metal door with a small door through which his food is pushed in to him. Over the past 33 months, his interaction with other people has been limited to the time the hatch is opened for his food, and his rare court appearances.
The design of Barrack No 12 violates the rules of confinement laid down in the Maharashtra prisons Act 1894, and Maharashtra Prisons (Building and Sanitary Arrangement) Rules, 1964, say people familiar with the case.
RTI findings
Most often, solitary confinement is a punishment decided by courts of law for those who are convicted. But Ansari has been placed in such a restrictive environment for his own safety, according to internal correspondence between prison official that the undertrial obtained through Right to Information requests.
In December 2012, a few months after Ansari was lodged in Arthur Jail, Swati Sathe, the Deputy Inspector General of prisons, wrote to the jailor of Arthur Road prisons saying, “For reasons of safety and security as there are other terrorists and gangsters in the jail, you are directed to keep Mr. Zabiuddin Ansari away from other prisoners…”
Though no specific incident of violence or gang rivalry was listed as the reason for the letter, a few days later jail authorities sent a compliance letter. A similar letter was also written by Amitesh Kumar, the Additional Police Commissioner of the Mumbai Anti Terrorism Squad in February 2013 directing the jailor to keep Ansari away from other prisoners.
Three months later, Mumbai Police Commissioner Satya Pal Singh wrote to the Home Department of the Maharashtra government seeking an exemption from Ansari being produced in court for hearings. The letter states;
“…the above-mentioned accused lodged in Arthur road jail has number of cases against him also in other states. Hence, possibility of assassination bid on his life by rival groups or kidnapping him while he is being transferred from jail to court or vice versa cannot be ruled out.”
Over the next two years, two separate petitions attempting to challenge such orders were summarily dismissed by the High Court.
Sharib Ali coordinates research at the non-profit Quill Foundation. He can be reached at sharibkmc@gmail.com
