Official in WB’s Baruipur jail thrashed as prisoners turn violent

Baruipur, Mar 03: A jail official was trashed as he tried to stop violent clashes between two groups of inmates of the Baruipur correctional home in West Bengal's South 24 Parganas district, officials said on Tuesday.

Sub Jailer Shyamal Bhattacharya was beaten up when he intervened as clashes broke out between the two groups on Monday evening, they said. The prisoners then started hurling stones and vandalised parts of the correctional home, which was inaugurated by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee in November 2018, the officials said.

Bhattacharya has been admitted to the Baruipur sub-divisional hospital. A large contingent of police force was rushed to the spot but the situation came under control in the early hours of Tuesday after senior officers spoke to the inmates, they said.

Though officials were tight-lipped about what sparked the violence, a senior police officer said that the prisoners levelled several allegations against the jail authorities.

The officer said that the inmates have been promised that no action will be taken for the vandalism in a bid to pacify them. It was decided that superintendent of the correctional home and the additional jailer will be transferred in a few days, he said, adding that the allegations of the prisoners will also be probed.

Superintendent of Police Rashid Munir Khan has also given his phone number to the inmates and told them that they can call him in case of any problem, officials said. Correctional administration minister Ujjwal Biswas visited the jail late in the night and took stock of the situation.

On Saturday, a life convict went atop a building of the Howrah district jail and threatened to commit suicide, alleging irregularities at the correctional home.