In Jaipur central jail, Muslim prisoners allege assault by officials and other convicts over namaz

On September 7, trouble erupted in Jaipur Central Jail as Hindu prisoners objected to Muslim inmates saying namaz. According to the police, the row was soon controlled by the use of “light force”. The relatives of Muslim prisoners tell a different story. On September 9, two days after the row, eight Muslim undertrial prisoners were beaten for hours by the jail authorities, they allege.

Zubair Khan, one of the inmates, gave his account to his nephew, 22-year-old Nomaan Khan, who visited the jail on September 14. “There were inmates who had a problem with the fajr namaz [early morning prayers], where some ayats [Quranic verses] have to be recited,” said Nomaan Khan. “This led to a fight between inmates on September 7. Then on September 9, instead of opening the lock up to allow inmates to stroll around in the open compound between 3 pm to 5 pm, the eight men were taken to an area where jail officials and some other prisoners beat them up for three to four hours.”

All eight prisoners who were allegedly assaulted are accused of planning to make bombs. Arrested from Rajasthan’s Chittorgarh district, most have been in jail since March. Seven of the eight prisoners are from Ratlam in Madhya Pradesh. The eighth prisoner is from Pune.

As Nomaan Khan got ready to leave after the 15-minute meeting on September 14, he noticed his uncle had difficulty walking. Worried, he approached the families of the other inmates who were allegedly beaten up and got in touch with lawyers.

They moved a Jaipur sessions court on September 15, saying the lives of the eight prisoners were under threat and asking for them to be given medical examinations.

When the police conducted these medical examinations, it was found that all the eight men had injuries. However, their lawyer, Minaj-ul Haq, said that the most severe injuries would not have shown up in the examination. “What is the point of doing a medical six to seven days later?” he asked.

The same day that the plea was heard, the police registered a first information report to investigate the incident. However, it does not mention that police officers were allegedly involved in the claimed assault on the prisoners.

Relatives of the prisoners demand action against the police officials involved in the alleged beating. “See, we are used to being called terrorists in jails or told to go to Pakistan,” said Shahid Khan, the relative of 34-year-old Aamin Patel, one of the eight prisoners. But the events of September 9 put the lives of the prisoners at risk, he said. Police officials did not just use “light force”, he claimed.

According to their families, the eight prisoners have been falsely implicated in the bomb-making case – but this is a separate matter. “The issue here is about the way they are being treated inside the jail,” said Irfan Khan, whose brother, Imran Khan, was also injured on September 9. “Even prisoners have rights in a democracy. They are under trial, not convicted.”

‘Threat to life’

The eight injured men are 42-year-old Zubair Khan, 38-Mazhar Khan, 40-year-old Imran Khan, 26-year-old Altamat Khan, 34-year-old Saifullah Khan, 34-year-old Aamin Patel, 33-year-old Aamin Khan and 40-year-old Akif Nachan.

All had asked to meet their families on September 14. Only two were allowed to do so – Zubair Khan and Saifullah Khan. Zubair Khan’s nephew, Nomaan Khan, who visited the prison, claimed the others were not allowed meetings as they had suffered more serious injuries. “They [the authorities] were trying to hide the information,” he said.

The remaining families, who had been waiting outside the Jaipur jail for days, got fragments of information from inmates who walked out after being granted bail, many of them non-Muslims.

“They said it was not some fight but about namaz, Muslims were targeted by the staff,” Irfan Khan said.

The families of the eight men have written letters giving details of the incident to the Rajasthan Minorities Commission and the state director general of police. The authorities met the families and assured them action would be taken, some relatives said.

The police report

The first information report filed on September 15 includes charges such as voluntarily causing hurt and wrongful restraint – all of them against Hindu and Muslim prisoners. Both the FIR and the fact-finding report submitted by the police to the court on September 17 suggest there was nothing more to the incident than prisoners fighting among themselves.

The report, accessed by Scroll.in, does not mention any trouble on September 7 or a fight over namaz. According to the report, a fight broke out between inmates when tea was served around 3.30 pm on September 9. It says an argument broke out between a number of “vichardhari bandhi” (ideological inmates), who began to abuse and hit each other. It goes on to say the prison staff resorted to “mild force” to control the situation.

After the altercation died down, the report continues, Mazhar Khan was removed from the barrack he shared with Zubair Khan. As they were taking him away, the report says, “Amin, Imran, Altamas, Saifullah, Amin, Akif and some others started shouting loudly and started behaving indecently with the jail staff”.

That was when the police – helped by “the prison guards and duty staff” – used “light force” to restore order.

The police report also said the case was being investigated by the deputy inspector general of prisons, Jaipur, and there would be “necessary legal action against the prisoners who quarreled”.

Relatives of the eight men reject this version, alleging the police were trying to protect their own by blaming the incident on prisoners. Advocate Haq said, “They only filed a first information report after the plea was filed in court, when the incident had happened six days earlier. This shows they never intended to investigate the case.”

Several relatives also said the injuries were not properly documented. Akif Nachan was allegedly beaten on the buttocks, said his brother, 46-year-old Saif Nachan. Aamin Patel was hit on the waist and palms, claimed his brother, Shahid Khan. When he got on a video call with Patel on September 14, the marks were still visible, he said.

Deputy Inspector General, Jaipur Range, Monika Agarwal told Scroll.in the incident was “not a big matter”. The FIR had been filed several days later because the authorities had taken some time to ascertain the facts. She also said one jail official had been suspended for failing to restore order in the prison. She refused to comment on allegations that the row had originally broken out over namaz.

‘Lost their minds’

The first information report alleging the eight men were trying to make bombs was filed by the National Investigation Agency on March 30. Earlier that day, Zubair, Altamat and Saifullah Khan were travelling in a car that was flagged down by the police in Nimbadera in Chittorgarh. The police claim to have found material to make explosives in the car and allege the men belong to a terror outfit called Sufa.

“They conspired with intention to target the sovereignty and and integrity of the country and further creating fear and terror among the citizens by way of explosion,” the FIR says.

They have been booked under sections of The Explosive Substances Act and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

According to their families, Zubair, Altamat and Saifullah Khan were on their way to meet Altamat’s in-laws, who live around Tonk in Rajasthan, when they were arrested. Both Zubair and Altamat Khan also had business there, they said. The others were later traced through WhatsApp chats and call records and picked up from their hometowns.

Irfan Khan, who has been deputed by the families to handle legal matters, said the police has alleged in hearings that the men had “lost their mind” and decided to carry out a bomb blast in Jaipur.