MUMBAI: Zabihuddin Ansari alias Abu Jundal, the 26/11 attackers' suspected handler, lodged in the high-security Kasab cell at the Arthur Road jail, allegedly taunted former media baron Peter Mukerjea that the latter should be transferred to solitary confinement and that he himself should be shifted to the ground floor cell where Peter is lodged.
Jundal (35) has been in jail since 2012, while Peter has been there for two weeks. The jail authorities three days ago submitted an application before the special MCOCA court judge, A L Anekar, about a December 1 incident. "After seeing Peter with police escorts at the Kasab cell building, Jundal said we cannot lodge Peter in the ground floor cell. He also said that Peter should be kept in his cell and he (Jundal) should be transferred to the ground floor cell," an application filed by the jail authorities stated. Peter has been in the cell which was earlier occupied by deported gangster, Santosh Shetty.
The Kasab cell building, designed in January 2009, is a ground plus one structure. While the ground floor has three cells, the first floor, where Ajmal Kasab was lodged, is deserted with only one cell. The fire and bomb-proof cell's first occupant, Kasab, was hanged to death in November 2011. Soon after Jundal was deported from Saudi Arabia, he was lodged in the 6x10ft cell. The building has a kitchen which prepares food for inmates and police officers, and has maximum CCTV cameras and guards armed with sophisticated weapons.
While Jundal is locked in his first floor cell and can come out only for a court hearing, Peter's cell on the ground floor is mostly open everyday. He walks in the corridor and sometime chats with policemen and others. He is also permitted to visit the jail library. Jundal, a resident of Beed district, is facing smuggling and conspiracy charges in the 2006 case. He is also suspected to have handled and guided the 26/11 attackers during the attack from a camp in Pakistan. He also allegedly taught the attackers Hindi.
The jail authorities, in their letter to the court, sought permission to take action against Jundal for "violating prison rules". The court has told the defence to file its reply. Advocate Aasif Naqvi, representing Jundal in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, said, "These are the jail authorities' allegations. I have filed applications against them for several reasons and they are trying to put pressure," said Naqvi. The jail authorities had allegedly promised Jundal that he would be shifted from solitary confinement if he called off his one-and-a-half-month hunger strike.
Among the other former occupants of the Kasab building was Arthur Road jail's superintendent, Vasudev Burkule. He was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe, and was in the next room, on the ground floor last year. Ramesh Kadam (MLA), arrested for misappropriation of funds, was in the ground floor cell recently.
Jundal (35) has been in jail since 2012, while Peter has been there for two weeks. The jail authorities three days ago submitted an application before the special MCOCA court judge, A L Anekar, about a December 1 incident. "After seeing Peter with police escorts at the Kasab cell building, Jundal said we cannot lodge Peter in the ground floor cell. He also said that Peter should be kept in his cell and he (Jundal) should be transferred to the ground floor cell," an application filed by the jail authorities stated. Peter has been in the cell which was earlier occupied by deported gangster, Santosh Shetty.
The Kasab cell building, designed in January 2009, is a ground plus one structure. While the ground floor has three cells, the first floor, where Ajmal Kasab was lodged, is deserted with only one cell. The fire and bomb-proof cell's first occupant, Kasab, was hanged to death in November 2011. Soon after Jundal was deported from Saudi Arabia, he was lodged in the 6x10ft cell. The building has a kitchen which prepares food for inmates and police officers, and has maximum CCTV cameras and guards armed with sophisticated weapons.
While Jundal is locked in his first floor cell and can come out only for a court hearing, Peter's cell on the ground floor is mostly open everyday. He walks in the corridor and sometime chats with policemen and others. He is also permitted to visit the jail library. Jundal, a resident of Beed district, is facing smuggling and conspiracy charges in the 2006 case. He is also suspected to have handled and guided the 26/11 attackers during the attack from a camp in Pakistan. He also allegedly taught the attackers Hindi.
The jail authorities, in their letter to the court, sought permission to take action against Jundal for "violating prison rules". The court has told the defence to file its reply. Advocate Aasif Naqvi, representing Jundal in the 2006 Aurangabad arms haul case, said, "These are the jail authorities' allegations. I have filed applications against them for several reasons and they are trying to put pressure," said Naqvi. The jail authorities had allegedly promised Jundal that he would be shifted from solitary confinement if he called off his one-and-a-half-month hunger strike.
Among the other former occupants of the Kasab building was Arthur Road jail's superintendent, Vasudev Burkule. He was arrested for demanding and accepting a bribe, and was in the next room, on the ground floor last year. Ramesh Kadam (MLA), arrested for misappropriation of funds, was in the ground floor cell recently.
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