Inmates of the model jail in Faridkot clashed with security officials on Monday following the death of 70-year-old inmate Harsha Singh. Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has ordered a magisterial enquiry into the incident.
The inmates went on the rampage and damaged property inside the prison, police officials in Faridkot said. They were protesting the death of a prisoner under mysterious circumstances on Sunday night.
Jail officials said the situation was brought under control on Monday afternoon. However, tension continued to prevail in the prison complex. Badal ordered magisterial enquiry into the entire event at Model Jail.
An official statement said that Harsha Singh, aged about 70 years, was arrested under the NDPS Act on April 18 and apparently died of a cardiac arrest. "Thereafter, the prisoners protested against the medical staff of the jail, citing lack of timely medical attention to the patient. The protestors also set fire to jail property in the canteen and caused disturbance for some time before the situation was brought under control by the district administration and police and IG (Prisons), Jagjit Singh, who also rushed to the spot," the statement said.
Ironically, this is the third death of a prisoner in the past fortnight in Faridkot Jail. The enquiry has been marked to Darshan Singh Grewal, SDM, Kotkapura.