The Uttar Pradesh government suspended six prison officials on Monday after a video showed inmates of the Rae Bareli district jail drinking alcohol and using a mobile phone. An inquiry under the deputy inspector general for jails has been initiated, reported The Times of India.
The video purportedly shows sharp shooter Anshu Dixit and five other people sharing alcohol and threatening a person over the phone, according to the Hindustan Times. Dixit is heard telling the person over the phone to give Rs 10,000 to the jailer at his residence and Rs 5,000 to the deputy jailer. He is also heard asking the person to deliver liquor to the jail. A few bullets are seen lying on a bed.
The district magistrate ordered a search of the prison after the video was shared online, reported News18. Principal Secretary (Home and Prisons) Arvind Kumar said Senior Superintendent of the district jail Pramod Kumar Mishra, jailer Govind Ram Mishra, deputy jailer Ram Chandra Tewari, head warder Lalta Prasad Pandey, and two warders Ganga Ram and Shiv Mangal Singh have been suspended.
Additional Director General (Prisons) Chandra Prakash said deputy inspector general (Prison Headquarters) Umesh Srivastava has been ordered to investigate the matter. Initial inquiries have suggested the video was prepared by the jail inmates before November 2 and intentionally made viral on social media, Prakash said. He added that four inmates seen in the video were transferred to different jails on November 19.
Four mobile phones were recovered during a search of the premises on November 21. The jail superintendent has also lodged a First Information Report against the inmates.
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