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Woman charged with MCOCA found dead at Sassoon hospital
A woman who was booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) was found dead at Sassoon General Hospital on Tuesday evening while being under the arrest of Pune police
A woman who was booked under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) was found dead at Sassoon General Hospital on Tuesday evening while being under the arrest of Pune police.
The woman was under arrest in the case of abetment to suicide of Milind alias Balwant Marathe (60), a resident of Bhandarkar road area of Pune. The case was registered at Vishrambaug police station under Sections 306, 452, 386, 504, 506, 507, and 34 of Indian Penal Code along with Sections 39 and 45 of Maharashtra Money Lending Act.
On Tuesday, the Pune police invoked Sections 3(1)(i) and 3(4) off Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime (MCOCA) against the woman and her co-accused Nilesh Umesh Shelar.
“She was arrested under MCOCA yesterday (Monday) but also tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday (Monday). So, she was placed under judicial custody and admitted to Sassoon General Hospital. She said she was going for a bath and to wash clothes and once inside, she refused to open the door for a long time. When our people forcefully entered the bathroom, they found the glass tiles on the ventilation window to have been removed,” said Rahul Patil, deputy commissioner of police, Zone-2, Pune.
The police rushed to the spot that is located between the morgue and the 11-storey building dedicated to Covid-19 treatment.
“There is a metal frame and glass to that window, and it is big enough for a person to pass through. The glasses had been removed and she was found lying under the window. The logical conclusion is that she jumped from there,” said Chandrakant Sangale, assistant commissioner of police, Lashkar Division of Pune police.
“We have no idea what happened. We are looking at her body lying near the new building of Sassoon hospital. We were just told that it happened around an hour ago,” said one of her colleagues who was standing near the main gate of the 11-floor Covid wing.
The stringent MCOCA was invoked against the woman after an application was made to additional commissioner of police Sanjay Shinde stating that the duo, led by Kale, had committed various crimes including attempted murder, abetment to suicide, extortion, uploading and spreading false videos among other things.
“We request with folded hands to all to report that she was murdered, she cannot commit suicide. Her husband has already made a complaint regarding the same when she was arrested. She herself had complained to honourable JMFC about atrocities committed upon her by the police,” said advocate Tosif Sayyed who worked with Kale.
