Jaipur:
In a shocking case of atrocities in custody, nearly a dozen Muslim inmates at the Jaipur Jail were allegedly thrashed by prison authorities.
All those allegedly beaten, are accused of playing a role in the serial bomb blasts that rocked Jaipur in May 2008.
Ironically, the incident occurred on Eid, when the prisoners asked to be allowed to pray.
"When I met my brother in the jail, he told me that the jail officials had 'treated them badly'. They had asked for permission to perform Namaz, but the officials took them aside and beat them badly," claims Abdul Qureshi of Kota, who's brother Ishtiaque and nephew Taufique are accused of helping Sajid Mansuri, an alleged mastermind of the Jaipur blasts.
Taufique's mother Zahida adds, "My son showed me several bruises on his legs. He said they had beaten him with sticks." 11 others were allegedly tortured along with the Qureshi father-son duo.
In protest against this incident, many Muslims in Kota wore black bands at the Friday Namaz on September 25. Human rights activists point out that all those treated brutally in jail are only under-trials - not convicts. And though they were arrested over 15 months ago, the police are yet to file a chargesheet against even one of them.
"They are in Judicial custody and it's the government's duty to provide them safety. If jail officials themselves behave so inhumanly and violate the law, then it's very dangerous," says Salim Engineer, co-ordinator of the Rajasthan Muslim Front.
Though the Gehlot administration has now ordered an enquiry on the incident and shunted out the Jailor and Deputy Jailor, Muslim groups want the offending officials to be suspended immediately. They have threatened to launch a statewide agitation, if the government does not take action within a week.