Rioting in Agra jail after two inmates commit suicide

Vijay Upadhyay
Agra. The Agra district jail hospital and a number of barracks were set ablaze by agitated jail inmates after the death of two prisoners in a day inside the jail.
However, the authorities forced rioting inmates to retreat into their barracks. Seven prisoners were injured in the violence, which has resulted in the suspension of three jail officials. According to Deputy Inspector General (Jail), Agra, ML Prakash, a prisoner Kuldeep Singh (23) in the barrack no 3 (a) of the Agra district jail committed suicide early Sunday morning along with another prisoner Vinod Kumar by hanging.
A suicide note was left , alleging severe torture and exploitation by the Jail officials. The names of the officials were also mentioned. Mr Prakash said Kuldeep's death was reported immediately to the jail authorities by the prisoners, who demanded action against Jailor Sukhvir Singh Chauhan, who, they claimed had tortured Kuldeep on Saturday night under the influence of liquor.
Ashamed of the repeated torture and exploitation by the jailor and his two cohorts Avnindra Tripathi and Sri Prakash Tripathi (both deputy jailors), Kuldeep and Vinod committed suicide. There was tension between the jail inmates and the authorities, but the real breaking point was the news of the death of another prisoner Aslam in jail hospital, who was under treatment for injuries inflicted upon him by the crowd while trying to steal a buffalo. Reportedly, the prisoner was not given proper treatment by the jail doctors.
Angered by the news of another inmate's death due to the callousness of the jail authorities, about 1,200 prisoners came out of their barracks and attacked the jail kitchen, pulling out the firewood from the stoves and setting the jail hospital on fire.
A number of barracks were also gutted in the fire, injuring at least seven prisoners who are now under going treatment in the SN Medical College. Mr Prakash said the jail authorities were forced to call the Agra police for support as there were only thirty guards inside the jail to control the prisoners. It was only when the police arrived and the jail guards fired in the air, that the prisoners began to retreat in the barracks.
Superintendent of Police, Agra (City), Gulab Singh, told The Pioneer that a large number of gangsters are in the Agra district jail and the police arrived at the scene to prevent their escape.
He said that the supporters of the two prisoners had assembled outside the jail gate and had begun pelting stone at the police, forcing them to resort to a mild lathi-charge. He said that extra police force has now been deployed at the district jail and a criminal case under section 306 of IPC has been filed against the jail authorities for the death of Kuldeep Singh.
The bodies of the two prisoners have been sent for postmortem and a magisterial probe has been ordered into the incident. In is noteworthy here that the unrest against the Jailor SB Chauhan had been growing among the inmates since September 16, when the inmates had refused to go to the District Courts for their hearing, protesting against the behaviour of the jail authorities.
(UNITED NEWS NETWORK)
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