Three inmates sustained head injuries and more were hurt after members of the Shubham Mota and Puneet Bains gangs clashed in Ludhiana Central Jail on Wednesday.
Leaders of the rival gangs, gangsters Shubham Arora and Puneet Bains, alias Mani, are both lodged in the jail, and their aides were attending an online hearing in a chamber when both groups came to blows, police said.
The clash spilled outside as well, as members of the two groups continued to attack each other until jail personnel and additional police force from the city brought the situation under control.
A source in the jail said members of both gangs suddenly clashed during an online hearing in a case involving them. While the reason could not be established immediately, jail guards and paramilitary personnel deployed in the jail rushed to the spot to separate the fighting groups.
A high alert was sounded and police personnel from Zone 4 of the Ludhiana police commissionerate were also pressed into service to control the situation.
After separating the fighting inmates, they were taken to different barracks and the injured were treated at the hospital on the jail premises.
While jail superintendent Balkar Singh Bhullar was not available for a comment, deputy superintendent Satnam Singh claimed it was a minor fight between two groups.
{{/usCountry}}While jail superintendent Balkar Singh Bhullar was not available for a comment, deputy superintendent Satnam Singh claimed it was a minor fight between two groups.
{{/usCountry}}He said DSP (Security) Ashwani Sharma will conduct an inquiry into the incident and submit a report.
While nodal officer Rupinder Kaur Bhatti could not be reached, additional deputy commissioner of police-4 Rupinder Kaur Sra said no formal complaint was received from the jail.
This is not the first time that violence erupted in the jail. On June 27, 2019, an inmate was killed and over a dozen people, including five police personnel, were injured after two gangs clashed inside the prison following rioting, forcing the police to open fire. Four prisoners tried to escape amid the commotion, but were apprehended.
Rivalry had spilled out on streets in June
Wednesday’s incident comes three months after aides of Shubham went around firing shots and attacking people related to Puneet on June 3. Puneet’s cousin was attacked with sharp-edged weapons and his car was vandalised. They further hurled stones at the house of the gangster, while threatening his mother, before going to the house of his aide Nanna Don, also pelting it with stones. Later, five shots were fired at a woman related to Puneet, but she escaped unhurt.
Subsequently, members of Puneet’s gang assaulted an aide of Shubham, Rajvir Singh. Multiple FIRs were lodged into the attacks.
The rivalry between the two gangs goes back to February 2020 when Shubham and his aides assaulted Puneet. They both were eventually arrested and lodged in Ludhiana central jail.