26 ‘high-profile’ prisoners from Jammu and Kashmir flown in to Agra jail

AGRA: Keeping in view the current security situation in Jammu and Kashmir, 26 “high-profile” prisoners who were lodged in various jails of the erstwhile state were transferred to Agra Central Jail on Thursday. Officials, however, refused to reveal the identities of the prisoners.
According to sources, the inmates were flown in amid heavy security cover on Thursday afternoon.They were transferred from Kheria airbase to the central jail in police vehicles with the windows covered. Also, the traffic on MG Road was blocked for high-speed movement of the convoy. An official speaking on conditions of anonymity said that the transfer is just a temporary arrangement and the inmates have been lodged in separate enclosures away from other prisoners. Talking to TOI, a senior UP police official said that 26 prisoners who were shifted to Agra Central Jail are from Srinagar and they all had been booked under the Public Safety Act (PSA).
The officials refused to speak further and said that they had received orders for making necessary arrangements for their shifting on Thursday morning.
Meanwhile, the security at Agra jail has been enhanced to the highest level. An additional company of provincial armed constabulary (PAC) has also been deployed on the premises.
A senior official of the prisons department, who did not wish to be identified, said, “Based on the directions of the central government, several high-profile prisoners from various jails in J&K have been shifted to Agra Central Jail. They have been kept in a special cell away from other prisoners. The entire matter is related to national security and further details cannot be revealed.”
Sources said prisoners from J&K would be transferred to jails in other states as well for which necessary arrangements have been made. Under the PSA, a person in Jammu and Kashmir can be kept in detention for a period of two years without any judicial intervention, said an official.