Faizabad jail inmates hold guards hostage

FAIZABAD: Violence erupted at Faizabad divisional jail, following clashes between two groups of inmates on Saturday. Crisis deepened when jail guards were held hostage by inmates, who laid siege to the prison compound and demanded action against those who triggered violence.
Agitated jail inmates threatened to blow up LPG cylinders inside the mess, forcing police and PAC jawans to exercise caution while trying to restore order.Senior officials were forced to use drone cameras to take stock of the situation. The situation was brought under control after senior administrative officials reached the site to supervise police action and convinced inmates to call off their protest.

Sparks flew when some inmates recently shifted from Azamgarh Prison were spotted using a mobile phone by prison guard, Bhola, who informed the jail superintendent. Enraged over this, the new inmates thrashed Bhola. When other prisoners rushed to his rescue, they too were attacked. The situation worsened when other inmates created ruckus, demanding action against those who attacked the guard and held them hostage.
The jail administration’s attempt to bring additional reinforcements failed as inmates took over the jail mess and threatened to blow up the kitchen to keep security forces at bay. CCTV cameras were also damaged. Authorities used drone cameras to identify strategic entry points inside the campus and then used force to counter the rampaging prisoners.
It took authorities almost 6 hours to gain access into the prison and rescue inmates held hostage and rush them to the district hospital for treatment as they were injured. Faizabad district magistrate Anil Kumar Pathak said, a magisterial inquiry has been ordered into the incident and action will be initiated against those responsible for violence, once the probe report is received.