Prayagraj violence accused shifted to Deoria jail, family claims not informed

Family members of Javed Mohammad, the alleged mastermind of the violence following Friday prayers on June 10 here, have claimed that he was shifted from the Naini Central Jail to a Deoria jail without informing them. His daughter Sumaiya Fatima told PTI that they came across a newspaper report on Sunday, which said her father was shifted to the Deoria district jail.

"We thought there is no truth in the news since nothing was told to the family or lawyers. On Monday, my mother went to the Naini jail and when she enquired about my father, she was told that he is not there," Fatima said.

"We wondered as to where he could have been shifted. All newspapers were saying that he was shifted to the Deoria jail but the administration did not tell us anything," she said.


Fatima said they got confirmation form their relatives on Tuesday morning that her father is lodged in the Deoria jail.

A senior official of the Naini Central Jail said, "There is no rule under which the jail administration has to inform the family of an inmate about his transfer from one jail to another. The court, DG (Jails), Home Department, DMs and SPs of both districts were informed about it. The family of the inmate is informed when he falls ill or dies."

"Just presume that we tell the family about shifting the inmate to another jail and some accident takes place with the inmate, then who will be responsible for it," he said, adding that the family was not told as a precautionary measure.

When asked that family members of Mohammad claim that officials at the Naini jail did not share any information about him with them, the jail official said, "They are telling lies."

According to police, Mohammad is the mastermind of the stone pelting that took place here on June 10 after protests against the controversial remarks on Prophet Mohammad by now-suspended BJP spokesperson Nupur Sharma spun out of control.

The Prayagraj Development Authority had on June 12 demolished Mohammad's house, claiming that the building map of the house had not been approved by them.