Five inmates of Kolhapur's Kalamba Central Jail attacked and killed a 59-year-old convict involved in the 1993 Bombay serial blasts case. Munna, also known as Mohd Alikhan and Manojkumar Gupta, was beaten with the concrete and metal cover of the drainage chamber near the prison's bathing well at 7:55 am on Sunday, June 2.
Kolhapur Superintendent of Police Mahendra Pandit, who confirmed the incident, told the media that the convict Ali was pounced upon by five other inmates facing serious charges under the MCOCA.
A heated quarrel followed by a huge brawl reportedly erupted among the inmates, and in a fit of rage, the five undertrials yanked a manhole cover and repeatedly pounded Munna on the head, leading to his death.
Soon afterwards, the jail authorities and Kolhapur's Rajwada Police Station teams, which rushed there, took charge of the assailants and arrested them under various charges, including murder, rioting and other offences. The accused were identified as -- Rituraj Inamdar, Deepak Khot, Shanker Chavan, Saurabh Siddha, and Pratik Patil.
The police and jail authorities are probing the exact causes behind the ruckus inside the jail premises that led to the death of Munna, who was serving a life sentence there.