After Naini Central jail and some of the jails in UP, the wave of silent protest by inmates has reached the district jail of Haridwar located at Roshanabad.
For the second consecutive day, the prisoners continued their hunger strike, demanding release of those who have completed 14 years of imprisonment.
Notably, around 90 inmates of the district jail had written to the prison officials demanding the release of such prisoners. However, six of them withdrew on the first day and seven more did the same on Tuesday, say the prison authorities.
While the talks are on with the prison inmates at the district level, the Chief Minister Harish Rawat has ordered a high-level probe into the matter.
On his visit to the city a day before, CM said that depending upon the inspection report, the decision would be taken in favour of the prisoners or else if the report finds them at fault, action would be taken against the protesting prisoners.
Notably, 77 prisoners did not take the evening meal on Monday and also missed breakfast on Tuesday. Showing solidarity with the cause, 84 prisoners joined the strike, though only 50 have completed 14 years of imprisonment.
As many as 470 inmates out of a total of 1021 are life time convicts whose sentence cannot be reduced, say the prison authorities.
Speaking to The Pioneer, jail superintendent S K Sukhija said, "On Tuesday, seven more have withdrawn their application after a notice was issued to the protestors that protesting inside a jail was counted as a crime under Prison Administration Act." Following this, a prisoner may get his punishment extended by one more year, added Sukhija.
Initially, the prisoners had given a collective letter, demanding consideration for release. later, they were asked to give individual letters.
When asked about the procedure for release of the prisoners, Sukhija said, "Most of the prisoners are life time convicts. As per the Supreme Court verdict, the life imprisonment cannot be shortened. However, the state government can reconsider reducing the term of the imprisonment if it so likes."