Inmate dies after fight at Amritsar jail, kin demand judicial probe

Though Amritsar jail authorities claim Davinder died of injuries inflicted by fellow inmates, his family has alleged that he and other inmates involved in the quarrel were brutally beaten up by jail staff

Days after a fight between inmates at the high-security Amritsar Central Jail, an undertrial succumbed to his injuries while undergoing treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital on Wednesday.

The victim has been identified as Davinder Singh of Aliwal village falling under Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar.

The deceased has been identified as Davinder Singh of Aliwal village falling under Ajnala subdivision of Amritsar. He was arrested in a drug peddling case and was lodged in the jail for over three years.

Though the jail authorities claim that Davinder died of injuries inflicted by his fellow inmates, his family has alleged that he and the other inmates involved in the quarrel were brutally beaten up by the jail staff that led to his death.

“Around 15 days ago, a quarrel took place in the jail and my brother was also involved in it. Later, the jail staff thrashed those involved. My brother was severely injured and was undergoing treatment at Guru Nanak Dev Hospital since then. On Wednesday, he succumbed to the injuries,” said Davinder’s elder brother Satnam Singh, while demanding a judicial probe and action against the jail officials.

In a video clip, which was purportedly recorded by Davinder before his death and is being circulated on social media, he can be heard alleging that the jail staff, led by an assistant superintendent, had brutally beaten him and others with sticks. HT cannot confirm the clip’s veracity.

Jail authorities deny allegation

Denying the allegations, jail superintendent Surinder Singh said: “Such allegations surface whenever an inmate dies. The inmate fought with his fellow inmates and got injured. He was rushed to the hospital by our staff for treatment.”

After the quarrel, Davinder was also booked along with four other inmates — Bikar Masih, Bikramjit Singh, Sikandar Singh, and Kuljit Singh — under Section 52 (offence against prison discipline) of the Prisons Act on February 18. “Davinder and Bikar got into a quarrel with the other three accused in barrack number 6’s room number 2 and violated the jail rule,” assistant superintendent of jail Sucha Singh had stated in the complaint lodged at the Islamabad police station.