Twenty inmates injured in ruckus at Bhavnagar Central Jail

Hours after a major ruckus left 20 people injured at the Bhavnagar Central Jail, the prison authorities registered a case of rioting against 22 inmates...

Hours after a major ruckus left 20 people injured at the Bhavnagar Central Jail, the prison authorities registered a case of rioting against 22 inmates, who allegedly attempted to flee in the melee. Preliminary investigations have revealed that the entire episode occurred after Shiva Pillai, an inmate, instigated other convicts to escape.

According to reports, following a clash between two groups of prisoners on Sunday morning, the jail staff, who tried to intervene, came under fire from the inmates. The police was called in to control the situation. Some of the jail staff also sustained injuries. Two seriously injured inmates were admitted to the Sir Takhtsinhji Hospital, whereas others were administered treatment inside the jail by a team of doctors from the Government Hospital.

Bhavnagar Superintendent of Police Manoj Shashidhar said: “It is a case of rioting between the inmates. The jail staff could not control the situation and the city police had to be called in.”

Story continues below this ad

Shashidhar said it all started when Pillai, a convict in a Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act went on a hunger strike and slit his wrist in his barrack. When jail guards opened his barrack to prevent him from inflicting further self-injury, he managed to escape, got the keys of the other barracks, and opened them. He also instigated the other convicts to flee.” He said the police had to resort to a lathicharge to control the situation.

Shashidhar said Pillai had time and again fomented trouble at the various jails where he had been lodged. On Sunday also he went on fast demanding some facilities.

While there have been allegations that the jail staff in Bhavnagar have been providing facilities like cellphone or home-cooked food to some inmates, against which Pillai had been protesting, Shashidhar, denied any such complaints coming from the jail during the investigation.

“We have not come across any complaints of corruption by the jail staff so far,” he said.

Story continues below this ad

A case has now been registered under Sections 147, 148, 332, 504 and 511 of the IPC against the 22 inmates.