Coronavirus: Bengal prison inmates clash with guards after denied meeting with families

Angry prisoners pelted stones and set fire to a portion of jail property, according to PTI.

Coronavirus: Prison inmates in Bengal clash with guards after denied meeting with families

Inmates at DumDum Correctional Home set fire within the jail premises. Fire tenders were rushed to the spot. (Source: ANI/Twitter)

The West Bengal government’s decision to prohibit prison inmates from meeting their families till March 31 in view of the coronavirus resulted in prisoners clashing with guards at the Dumdum Correctional home on Saturday. According to news agency PTI, prisoners pelted stones and set fire to a portion of jail property.

Earlier this morning, some inmates insisted on being released on parole, however, authorities denied. Upon refusal, they started a violent agitation, which then turned into a clash between the inmates and the prison guards, a top prison was quoted as saying by PTI.

While RAF personnel and policemen managed to bring the situation under control after some time, several fire tenders had to be pressed into service, the official said, adding that no casualty had been reported so far.

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“The situation is under control. We are trying to identify the inmates behind the incident,” he said.

The state government’s orders came in view of social distancing that is being advocated to contain the spread of COVID-19.

Allowing inmates’ families to wait outside the prison was against the concept, a senior official of the West Bengal Correctional Services Department had said on Friday. “Keeping this in mind, a decision was taken to not to allow the meetings till March 31,” he stated.

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In view of the coronavirus outbreak, a family member of an inmate can now only call up the prison authorities to enquire about his or her health.

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