By IANS
Jalandhar : Scores of inmates smashed windows, doors and furniture and set fire to a barrack inside the central jail in this Punjab city Monday to protest alleged high-handedness of jail authorities. At least three prisoners were injured in the mayhem that lasted for over two hours.
The situation in the prison, located in a congested residential area and one of the oldest in Punjab, remained tense as the police and jail management tried to wrest control of the prison complex from the agitated prisoners.
However, none of the prisoners tried to escape.
Jail security staff lobbed tear-gas shells and fired in the air to disperse the prisoners.
Punjab Police Deputy Inspector General Narinder Pal Singh, who rushed to the jail complex upon hearing of the chaos, said the first priority of the police was to restore order inside the prison.
“We are speaking to the representatives of the prisoners. They seem agitated over some issue,” Singh said.
Armed Punjab Police reinforcements were rushed to the prison to secure it from outside and ensure that no prisoner could escape.
The agitated prisoners set a portion of the prison complex on fire and damaged other buildings inside. They also threw out things from various rooms of the prison.
The prisoners were protesting against the alleged high-handedness of jail officials in recent days. They alleged that jail officials shaved the hair of a Sikh prisoner on Sunday, which is against the Sikh religion, and other inmates were beaten inside the prison.
The prisoners went on a hunger strike against the jail officials Monday morning after which they were caned by the jail staff. This led to the clash, and the prisoners began to run riot.
Most of the ire was against a jail official who joined his post a week ago. The official is known for using strong-arm tactics against prisoners. He was earlier accused of branding a prisoner with an objectionable word on his body while he was in another prison in Punjab.
Fire tenders were rushed to the prison complex but they could not enter it as the prisoners continued to agitate and were in no mood to relent. The police had no control over the prison for over two hours.
Smoke billowed out of the jail complex and could be seen from far away in the city.
District administration officials said a probe would be ordered into Monday’s incidents.