Undertrial stripped, video posted on FB

Ludhiana,Four jail inmates allegedly stripped and thrashed their rival in jail, videographed the incident in mobile phone and uploaded the same on Facebook.

As per the report submitted by the Jail authorities to the Tajpur police post, it is clearly stated that during inquiry, jail inmates were found guilty. Old rivalry is said to be reason behind the incident.

ADGP (Prisons) Rohit Chaudhary has ordered an inquiry and asked DIG (Prisons) Lakhminder Singh Jakhar to fix the responsibility and take action on merit.

The incident was reported on Monday, but when the victim apprised the jail officials about the same, they searched the barrack of the assailants and confiscated a mobile phone used by them for making the video.

The jail officials claimed that they did not find any such video in the mobile phone and it might be possible that assailants deleted the video. To recover the data, a technical team of the police had been roped in, they said.

On the complaint of inmate Vicky, who has been facing trial under the Arms Act and the Prison Act, a case under Sections 323, 506 and 34 IPC has been registered against Munish Kumar and Deepak Ghai, both convicts and undertrials Amandeep Singh and Rajinder Singh, all residents of Haibowal area.

ADGP (Prisons) Rohit Chaudhary confirmed to The Tribune that in preliminary probe, it appeared that the incident did take place and the accused also uploaded the video on the internet. “We have not recovered that video clip which is circulated on the social media. I have ordered an inquiry. It will focus on the security lapses leading to the incidents, the availability of the mobile phone with the inmate and connivance of any jail staff,” he said.

He said the inmate who beat up the victim was a local bully. “He has been shifted to the high-security zone inside the jail where such dangerous criminals are kept,” he said, adding that in the last three months, over 400 mobile phones were recovered from different jails in the state.