Inmates set Jalandhar Central Jail on fire

[jennifer]

Jalandher:-, Jan 07: In a shocking incident, the Jalandhar Central Jail was set ablaze by hundreds of inmates on Monday, following fierce clashes between the inmates and jail staff over allegations of torture and harassment. Five people are reported to have died and 30 critically injured in the violence.

According to reports, the prisoners were on hunger strike today to protest over the alleged ill treatment given to one of their inmates – his hair had been forcibly cut – by the jail administration and other persistent problems. The officials of the Jalandhar Central Jail today forced the inmates to call off their hunger strike...Read... (http://www.zeenews.com/articles.asp?aid=417042&sid=NAT)

[jennifer]

Jalandhar, January 7
Prisoners took over the overcrowded Central Jail located near Basti Adda Chowk here and did not allow anyone to come near them for a couple of hours today.

The prisoners also reportedly tried to blow up the boundary wall of the 19th century jail of the British time. The jail police resorted to fire several rounds in the air and fired teargas shells to thwart their attempt to flee in which a prisoner, Kuldip Singh Keepa, an accused in the infamous Prabir kidnapping case, sustained injuries.

The main reason of the provocation for the prisoners to take over the jail was the alleged highhandedness of the jail authorities...Read... (http://www.tribuneindia.com/2008/20080108/main1.htm)