Varanasi: Prisoners in Uttar Pradesh’s Jaunpur district jail on Friday went on a rampage for four hours, threw stones and thrashed jail officials over allegations that an inmate died on his way to hospital because the authorities didn’t act promptly, people familiar with the matter said.
At least one jail official has sustained a fracture.
The situation is tense but under control, said a senior police officer on Friday evening. Police reinforcements sent to end the arson and regain complete control finally succeeded after they used tear-gas shells. The reinforcements are still positioned at the jail as a precautionary measure.
The details are still sketchy. It is still not clear how the situation went so out of control that the police even had to use drones to monitor the situation inside the jail.
By all accounts, the situation started out of hand some time between 3pm and 4pm when relatives of an inmate, Bagesh Mishra, 42, landed at the jail to protest his death. Bagesh Mishra, husband of the village head of Banidih village in Jaunpur’s Rampur area block, had been sentenced to life term in January this year for a murder linked to a property dispute in 2011.
Bagesh, who had diabetes and a respiratory ailment, fell ill on Thursday. Jail superintendent SK Pandey said he was shifted from his barrack to the jail hospital on Thursday. But Bagesh Mishra’s condition worsened on Friday. Pandey, who rejected charges that the jail officials were negligent, said Bagesh was rushed to the Jaunpur district hospital when his condition deteriorated on Friday. But he died before he could reach the district hospital, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}Bagesh, who had diabetes and a respiratory ailment, fell ill on Thursday. Jail superintendent SK Pandey said he was shifted from his barrack to the jail hospital on Thursday. But Bagesh Mishra’s condition worsened on Friday. Pandey, who rejected charges that the jail officials were negligent, said Bagesh was rushed to the Jaunpur district hospital when his condition deteriorated on Friday. But he died before he could reach the district hospital, the officer said.
{{/usCountry}}Bagesh’s brother, Anil Kumar Mishra, who also reached the district hospital, then went to the jail, accusing the officials of negligence in treating his brother.
Police said when the prisoners heard about Bagesh Mishra’s death, they were furious. Initial reports indicate the prisoners attacked jail officials with whatever they could lay their hands on and created a ruckus and throwing stones and attacking whoever stood in their way. A jail warden, the first one who tried to stop them, ended up with a fractured leg and is being treated for his injuries.
The situation came to such a pass that Varanasi divisional commissioner Deepak Agarwal and Inspector General of Police SK Bhagat reached the jail along with additional police reinforcements to restore order.