Mumbai:
Arthur Road jail has frequently been in the news for gang wars amongst undertrials from the underworld. This time, however, the jail made news when a human skeleton was found in its premises on November 22, a day before home minister RR Patil and opposition leader in the state assembly, Eknath Khadse, paid a visit.
Confirming the incident, senior police inspector Vasant Tajne of NM Joshi Marg police station said, "The human skull and some parts of the skeleton were found when some digging and maintenance work was going on in the barrack No. 1 of the jail," he said.
He added that 8-9 feet below, construction workers found a skull, two leg bones- one 18 and 13 inches long, a part below the jaw with one tooth, two three-inch long bones and five small pieces of bones. The workers then informed jail officials who, in turn, informed the police. The police officials rushed to Arthur Road jail, conducted the panchnama of the bones and sent it to the forensic laboratory who further sent it to the anatomy department, said Tajne and added that the police were waiting for the report. Tajne feels that the skull and other parts of the skeleton are very old and may be from the times of the British Raj.
Khadse and Patil visited Arthur Road Prison on November 23 to inspect the jail following the inmates' grievances. They also briefly met the Pakistani terrorist, Ajmal Kasab.
Situated in south-central Mumbai, Arthur Road jail was constructed in 1926. It is one of the largest and among the oldest prisons in the state.
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