Armed visitors to UP jail arrested in surprise raid

After a jail superintendent was suspended in Bihar for allegedly allowing MP Pappu Yadav to hold a durbar in Beur, a deputy jailor and a con...

After a jail superintendent was suspended in Bihar for allegedly allowing MP Pappu Yadav to hold a durbar in Beur, a deputy jailor and a constable of Ghazipur Jail in UP were arrested along with 40 others, among them unauthorised visitors armed with weapons and cellphones, during a surprise raid carried out by the District Magistrate and the SSP.

As many as 40 people, most with criminal background, had been allowed inside the jail to meet two criminals, Annu Tripathi and Ramesh Babu of the Munna Bajrangi gang, official sources said. The two had been arrested from the house of a Haryana MLA in Delhi two months ago after they, and the MLA’s son, allegedly assaulted a constable. Three revolvers had been seized from them.

Following the raid on Tuesday, Ghazipur District Magistrate K.M. Pandey said there was a deep nexus between criminals and jail officials and ordered the arrest of Deputy Jailor Lalram Verma and another constable.

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Tripathi and Babu are the same criminals whom mafia-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari met on November 6 in Varanasi Jail in violation of rules, kicking off a major controversy. No action against the legislator or jail officials followed but, under fire, the Varanasi District Magistrate ordered Tripathi and Babu, both accused of a dozen murders, to be shifted to Mirzapur and Ghazipur jails respectively. But both ended up in Ghazipur jail as Mirzapur jail officials refused to take Tripathi in.

Ghazipur SSP, B.R. Meena said he got information yesterday that nearly 40 people had gained entry into Ghazipur Jail to meet the two criminals. Immediately, the SSP and DM raided the premises. As many as 40 people were arrested. Police recovered two double-barrel guns, a revolver, cartridges as well as two cellphones from their possession. Police said the phones had been brought in to be handed over to the two criminals. The raiding team also seized three cars parked inside the jail premises.

For Kolkata, the IMD has forecast mostly cloudy skies with light to moderate rain or thundershowers on most days through Panchami.

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