3 inmates injured in Kapurthala jail violence; tear gas used to restore order

Kapurthala: At least three inmates were injured in the violence that broke out inside Kapurthala Central Jail on Saturday night, after police used tear gas shells to bring the situation under control.According to authorities, normalcy was restored in the jail around midnight. Police said a case was being registered against the rioting inmates.Kapurthala SSP Gaurav Toora, who rushed to the jail with police force after receiving information around 9.15 pm, said the violence erupted in Block 4, which houses inmates facing four or more criminal cases. He said trouble began after a clash between two groups of prisoners. When jail staff intervened, some inmates allegedly turned against them and resorted to violence.The SSP said CCTV cameras were damaged, articles set on fire and doors vandalised. Inmates also allegedly took LPG cylinders from the kitchen to threaten jail staff and police personnel.The prisoners climbed onto rooftops of the jail complex and it took considerable effort, including negotiations, to bring them down, he said.Three injured inmates were hospitalised, while the FIR would include charges related to arson, rioting, obstructing public servants from discharging duty, criminal conspiracy, besides provisions of the Prisons Act and IT Act, the SSP said.He also revealed that more than half of the inmates in the jail were undergoing de-addiction treatment.Videos on social media, 2 phones seizedVideos on social media claimed the violence began after two prisoners were tortured by jail staff. In the videos, allegedly shot by the prisoners, two inmates showed marks of blunt injuries on their bodies and alleged they had been assaulted. They also denied that the unrest was the result of a clash between inmate groups. SSP Toora said two mobile phones allegedly used to record the videos were seized. "These phones were damaged, but we will try to recover the data," he said.Jail superintendent Shymal Jyoti did not respond to calls.