Former media baron and Sheena Bora murder case accused Indrani Mukerjea has been accused of using children of the jail inmates as human shield against lathi charge during the protests on June 24.
Mukerjea had previously been accused of causing riots following the alleged murder of fellow inmate Manju Shetye by the jail officials.
Enraged inmates rose in protest the day after Shetye died. Some of them went up to the prison's roof, while others made a bonfire of newspapers and documents inside the premises to express their anger.
Later, the Nagpada police booked nearly 200 inmates of the Byculla jail, including Indrani, for rioting, unlawful assembly, assault on a public servant and other relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code.
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Following allegations of using children as human shield, the Maharashtra Commission for Protection of Child rights (MCPCR) has formed a a six-member committee that visited the byculla jail, where Indrani is lodged, on Saturday around 12 noon, and spoke to children of inmates as well as their mothers, reported the Hindustan Times.
There are 285 woman inmates at Byculla Jail and 17 children below the age of six live with their mothers in the same barracks with other inmates, added the report.
According to a report filed in 2013 by the Indian Express, nearly 2,000 children below the age of six years were forced to live in jail with their mothers, raising concerns of their safety and physical and mental well-being.
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Although Supreme Court guidelines say they should be kept away from the barracks where their mothers are lodged, officials said it has not always been practical to do so.
