Suspects put on class act in jail

Mateen Hafeez | TNN

Mumbai: Several undertrials facing serious charges, including for murder and bomb blasts, are being addressed as ‘sir’ in jails right now. They have become part of the education programme in jails and teach less-literate inmates or review the teaching programme itself.

Among the teachers are those accused of playing a role in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, the 2006 and 2008 Malegaon blasts and two naval personnel accused of separate murders. Some of the accused, including a cop accused of selling heroin, have even become part of the committees that review the performance of other teachers.

Jail authorities initiated the educational programme at the Arthur Road, Taloja and Thane jails two months ago. The programme has also started at the Byculla women’s prison.

“Malegaon mosque blast suspect, Noor-ul-Huda, is teaching Arabic and Urdu to at least 10 inmates in his cell, while Malegaon 2008 blast suspect Maj (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay, who is in the Taloja jail, is on the committee that reviews the teaching,” said Surinder Kumar, inspector-general, prisons.

Kumar added that there are 17 teachers in the Arthur Road jail. Jail authorities formed a four-member committee at Arthur Road to monitor the inmates’ studies and educational progress. “In the Arthur Road committee, IPS officer Saji Mohan, who faces drug peddling charges, is the most active inmate. Another member in this committee is Sujit Nair, who has a BTech in computers. Earlier, they were teaching 10 students each, but now they have become part of the review committee,” said a senior prison officer.

There are 175 inmates enrolled in the education programme at Arthur Road jail. “Huda wished to teach Arabic and Urdu to inmates. He and over two dozen teaching aspirants were given a test. When they passed, they were assigned the job of teaching,” said Kumar. At the Byculla women’s prison, around 40 inmates are enrolled as students.

Jail authorities say they have been getting a positive response. “There is one Punjabi inmate. He did not know English but within two months was able to write his entire family’s name in English. We feel proud with such results,” added another jail official. Another inmate, Sheru Khan, a Class VII dropout, can speak a few sentences in English. “The classes are conducted for 90 minutes every day and it’s just a two-month course,” said a jail officer.

At Taloja, Upadhyay plays a major role. “He has also submitted some suggestions for improving the study system,” added Kumar. Other members in the apex committee are blast accused Riyaz Siddiqui, navy officer Emile Jerome and sailor Manish Thakur. Both navy men face separate murder charges.

PRISON FACULTY
Major (Retd) Ramesh Upadhyay
Suspected to be a conspirator in the 2008 Malegaon blast, which killed 7 people.
Status: Under trial

Riyaz Siddiqui
Suspected to be a conspirator in the 1993 Mumbai serial blasts, which killed 227 people
Status: Under trial

Saji Mohan
Mohan is an IPS officer who is suspected to have stolen and sold over 80 kg of heroin while he was zonal director of the Narcotics Control Bureau in Kerala in 2007-08
Status: Under trial

Noor-ul-Huda
Suspected to be a bomb planter in the 2006 Malegaon mosque blast, which killed 38
Status: Under trial

Emile Jerome
An Indian Navy officer, he and his girlfriend Maria Susairaj allegedly killed a director of Synergy Adlabs, Neeraj Grover
Status: Under trial

Manish Thakur
A sailor in the navy, Thakur allegedly killed his friend, Kaushambi Layek
Status: Under trial


SALEM DOESN’T GET NOD
Gangster Abu Salem, who is lodged at the Taloja jail, had also expressed his desire to become a teacher, according to jail authorities. He has been kept alone in a special cell. “We don’t want to give him a chance to become a teacher since we fear it might help him mingle with young boys and expand his gang in the jail itself,” said a jail officer. He added that Salem has been kept in a special cell and no inmate in a special cell has been given a chance to become a teacher. “It may create law-and-order problems and the opportunity to impart education may be misused,” said the officer.

Malegaon accused takes PhD entrance test
Swati Deshpande & Hemali Chhapia TNN

Mumbai: Of the 2006 candidates who appeared for the PET (PhD Entrance Test) on Saturday, one did not return home. He went back to the Arthur Road jail—his temporary home. The candidate who took special permission from the court and appeared for the exam was Farooq Makhdoom, one of the accused in the 2006 Malegaon blasts. He has been in jail for over four and half years. He wrote the exam in Urdu.

Makhdoom’s lawyer Yakub Yusuf Shaikh sought bail for him so that he could appear for the test. The magistrate wanted to see his hall ticket before granting him permission. Makhdoom was taken to his exam centre, Saboo Siddique College in Bandra, under heavy police protection. The blasts in 2006 had killed 31 and six of the nine accused are from Malegaon. They claim they were framed but the CBI has opposed the fresh bail plea filed this January.

The accused has been on a studying streak while in jail. Having completed his Bachelor of Unani Medicine in 1997, Makhdoom studied for his MA in Urdu while in custody in 2009. He has been securing a first class so far and is hopeful of cracking the PhD entrance as well. Even though his hopes of getting bail have been dashed a few times, he and eight others who applied again are still hopeful of getting a release order soon.

The exam was conducted across 12 centres in the city. There were 2174 candidates from the state who had registered for PET. At some centres, said controller of examinations Vilas Shinde, students wanted the question paper in Marathi. They were also allowed to write the exam in Marathi. Shinde said the Mumbai University would consider setting the paper in Marathi next year.


The Times of India, February 27, 2011