Around 400 jail inmates, lodged in Srinagar Central Jail, on Thursday night, attempted to break open the jail gates after damaging property and surveillance equipment, worth several lakhs.
According to official sources, the incident was reported around 9.00 pm inside the highly fortified jail premises.
According to an official note, "situation turned volatile as the inmates used inflammables to attack and damage the security grid of the central jail".
In a major breach of security, "more than 400 inmates from 10 barracks in the central area of jail broke open the internal gates and gathered to damage the entry/exit points in an attempt to escape".
According to official sources, "the jail inmates had accumulated LPG cylinders from the common mess and triggered 4 blasts near the gate and corners of walls".
Chaos prevailed inside the jail premises as jail inmates resorted to massive stone pelting. They had reportedly grabbed construction material dumped inside jail for ongoing works to target the officers, security personnel and vehicles outside.
Official sources said, "to contain the situation from slipping out of the hands fire tenders were pressed into action to contain the fire and disperse crowd".
The violent attacks from inside,however, continued for the whole night while senior officers camped there to contain the situation. "Despite announcements made on the loudspeakers the inmates didn’t relent",official sources said.