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Nexus with prisoners: More jail staff under UP STF scanner
The state government on Monday suspended six Bareilly prison officials, including the jailer, for allegedly facilitating illegal meetings between prisoner Khalid Azeem alias ‘Ashraf’, his henchmen and brother-in-law Saddam
LUCKNOW A few more jail personnel are under the scanner for their alleged involvement in facilitating illegal meetings between prisoners and their henchmen. The UP Police Special Task Force (STF) is preparing a list of such personnel who have been known for allowing criminals to operate their gangs from behind bars, said officials.
The state government on Monday suspended six Bareilly prison officials, including the jailer, for allegedly facilitating illegal meetings between prisoner Khalid Azeem alias ‘Ashraf’, his henchmen and brother-in-law Saddam. Ashraf, a former MLA, is the younger brother of gangster-turned-politician Atiq Ahmad, who is currently lodged in Gujarat’s Sabarmati jail.
On March 7, canteen supplier Daya Ram alias ‘Nanhe’ and jail guard Shiv Hari Awasthi were arrested for helping Ashraf hold secret meetings inside the prison. A similar nexus between Chitrakoot jail authorities, a canteen supplier and criminals was exposed after the arrest of jailed MLA Abbas Ansari’s wife Nikhat Bano and her driver Niyaz Ansari from the jail campus on February 11.
STF teams are visiting sensitive jails in Banda, Kannauj, Bareilly, Lucknow, Fatehpur, Prayagraj, Shahjahanpur, Deoria, Ghazipur and Varanasi where some hardened/dreaded criminals are lodged. They are identifying jail personnel who have been associated with gangsters, said a senior police official.
“Activities of such jail personnel will be under surveillance. Action will be taken, if they were found involved in similar activities,” he added.
UP prisons minister Dharamveer Prajapati held a meeting with senior jail authorities on Tuesday to ensure there is no repetition of Bareilly and Chitrakoot jail incidents. He said the duty of jail warders, deputy jailors and jailors should be rotated frequently to avoid formation of nexus between local jail personnel and prisoners.
The minister also asked officials to increase the number of CCTV cameras in jails for 24x7 surveillance. Earlier, 3,600 CCTVs were installed in different jails across UP, and now, at least 1,200 more would be installed for the purpose. “Top 10 criminals lodged in jails would be under the surveillance of UP prisons headquarters through live feed,” he added.
Ashraf is lodged in Bareilly district jail in connection with the murder of BSP MLA Raju Pal in Prayagraj on January 25, 2005. His brother-in-law Saddam allegedly met him in jail with assistance from the jailer, deputy jailer and others officials. The meetings were not mentioned in the jail’s official records. Canteen supplier Daya Ram provided money and arranged food/other articles from outside the prison for Ashraf, said officials.
