Rohini Jail wardens nabbed for allegedly extorting inmates' families with bribes

Two wardens from Delhi's Rohini jail, Dinesh Dabas and Pankaj Kumar, have been arrested. Families paid ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh for services.

Two wardens of Delhi’s Rohini jail have been arrested for allegedly extorting jail inmates, particularly undertrials, and their families for months in exchange for providing basic amenities, concessions and certain special services, said police deployed with the Anti-Corruption Bureau (ACB) in Delhi.

ACB officials said a special team went to the Rohini jail posing as the inmate’s family members on February 10 and the duo were held red-handed while accepting the bribe. (Sanchit Khanna/ Hindustan Times file photo for representation)

The accused— identified as Dinesh Dabas and Pankaj Kumar — had been working at the jail for around three years. The families were being asked to pay between ₹50,000 to ₹1 lakh for the provision of basic amenities to the inmate, such as a clean cell or food on time, said a senior officer at the jail.

“The wardens tried to make more money by offering phones to inmates and exemption from certain duties such as washroom cleaning along with other services,” the officer added.

The situation came to light after the families filed anonymous complaints with ACB about being threatened for a long time, said jail officials. One of the families approached the police as well as ACB in February.

ACB officials said a special team went to the Rohini jail posing as the inmate’s family members on February 10 and the duo were held red-handed while accepting the bribe.