Situation in Control at Patna Beur Jail
Patna: Dec. 18, 2007
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Beur Jail under Siege
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Photo by Shashi Uttam |
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After a standoff of more than six hours, officials at Beur Jail in Patna on Tuesday using batons and other force, managed to bring the situation under control and drove the prisoners back into their cells followed by a shake down of the entire prison.
Jail administration recovered several banned items including narcotics, knives, CDs, cigarettes, more than two dozen cell phones and their chargers were seized during the search of the prison cells, officials said.
The warring Maoists, however, ransacked the jail kitchen before going on a hunger strike demanding a high-level investigation into the death of Nagina Manjhi who, on Friday, committed suicide by hanging himself from the jail infirmary gate.
Senior jail officials who did not want their names revealed said Manjhi's suicide remains under investigation and foul play could not be ruled out in his death.
"He could be a victim of gang rivalry in the jail and his death may have been made to look like suicide," said a prison official who did not want to go on record.
More than 200 Special Auxiliary Police (SAP), Bihar Military Police (BMP, and district police jawans continue to monitor all activities in the jail both inside and outside and a restriction on visitation inside jail has also been imposed to deter any attempt to free the prisoners.
Meanwhile, Prison IG Sandeep Paundrik, at a press conference on Tuesday evening, said the administration was going to conduct a full investigation into the death of Nagina Manjhi and denied having used force to crush growing rebellion inside the Beur Jail.
In an unrelated incident, more than 300 Maoists guerillas barged into the office of a private construction company in Gaya and beat up 11 employees engaged in laying railway tracks between Rajgir and Tilaiya in Jharkhand.
Sources said the criminals had demanded more than Rs. 10 lakh in extortion money and the Tuesday attack was related to their demand.
Eight persons were sent to the Patna Medical College Hospital (PMCH) for treatment.
Raids are on to apprehend the Maoists.
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