Taloja jail is now the new underworld hub

MUMBAI: Taloja jail, about 50 km away from Mumbai, is fast becoming the new 'hub' for the underworld. Most of the dreaded criminals from the Arthur Road jail were shifted to the newly constructed Taloja jail spread over 77 acres of land.
Former MLA and gangster, Arun Gawli, was arrested in April 2008 under the stringent MCOCA, for allegedly plotting the murder of Shiv Sena corporator Kamalakar Jhamsandekar.He was lodged in the Arthur Road jail but later shifted to Taloja jail along with his cronies. The most recent transfer to the Taloja jail is that of extradited gangster Abu Salem. The jail authorities shifted Salem from Arthur Road to Taloja for "security reasons". Salem was alleg edly assaulted by D-gang member Mustafa Dossa in July this year. At present, Salem and Gawli both are lodged in the Anda cell at Taloja jail.
According to police sources, those caught in sensitive cases like bomb blasts are also lodged in the Taloja jail. The suspects caught for the 2008 Malegaon bomb blast, Indian army's lieutenent colonel Prasad Purohit, retired Major Ramesh Upadhyay, shankaracharya Swami Dayanand Pandey, Sudhakar Chaturvedi and Sameer Kulkarni, have also been shifted from Arthur Road to Taloja jail. All of them have been lodged in nearby cells. Moreover, six suspects belonging to the hardline outfit, Sanatan Sanstha, have also been lodged in the Taloja jail. These accused had allegedly planted bombs at Thane's Gadkari Rangayatan and two othe places in the state.
The arrival of gangsters in the jail has created a law and order problem, said the policemen posted in the Taloja jail. "There is a constant fear of a clash breaking out between the gangsters. We want more staff so that law and order could be properly maintained," said a cop from the jail.
While over 700 inmates have been lodged at Taloja, less than a 100 personnel have been posted there. Most of the inmates transferred to the Taloja jail were involved in some kind of rivalry or were a security threat at other jails. For instance, Salem's aide Hasan Mehndi, who was attacked by members of the Pandav-Putra gang in Arthur Road jail in September, was shifted to Taloja jail. Moreover, Irfan Shaikh and Sachin Shetty, both arrested for killing a dreaded robber, John D'Souza, inside the Arthur Road jail, have also been shifted to the Taloja jail. It is learnt that the Shaikh and Shetty are frequently seen at Salem's cell washing his clothes or bringing him food from the canteen or cigarettes.
Abdul Qayyum, a 1993 blast accused, who was also a suspect in the Gulshan Kumar murder case, was sent to Taloja jail, where his mentor Salem is already present. Jail officials also said these gangsters and robbers meet during day time and discuss issues for hours. "Sometimes, they also identify potential recruits for their gangs in the jail itself," said a source. For instance, Abbas Khan, member of the lesser-known Bharat Nepali gang, who was held for killing Chhota Rajan gang member Farid Tanasha, was also sent from the Arthur Road jail to the Taloja jail. He is now seen with several other suspects belonging to the Bharat Nepali gang. Several other dreaded killers, allegedly involved in the murder of matka king Suresh Bhagat, have also been sent to Taloja jail.
Naval officer Emile Jerome, involved in the Neeraj Grover murder is also lodged there. "The Taloja jail is meant to reduce the burden on other jails. We are keeping tight security and there is no law and order problem," said a senior jail official.