Prison inmates went on a rampage for four hours, threw stones and thrashed officials in Jaunpur District Jail on Friday, after an inmate died on his way to the hospital as the authorities failed to act promptly in extending medical help. At least one jail official sustained a fracture. Police reinforcements sent to end the arson and regain complete control finally succeeded after they used tear-gas shells. A senior police officer said that the situation on the jail campus continued to be tense but was under control on Saturday and an additional police force was still positioned at the jail as a precautionary measure.
While it was not yet clear how the situation spiralled out of control and the police even had to use drones to monitor the situation inside the jail. By all accounts, the situation snowballed between 3 and 4 pm on Friday when relatives of an inmate, Bagesh Mishra (42) reached the jail to protest his death.
The deceased, was the husband of gram pradhan of Banidih village of Rampur block in Jaunpur and was sentenced to life imprisonment in January this year for a murder linked to a property dispute in 2011. Bagesh, who had diabetes and a respiratory ailment, fell ill on Thursday. Jail Superintendent SK Pandey said that he was shifted from his barrack to the jail hospital on Thursday. Refuting charges that Jail officials did not extend timely medical aid to the inmate, Pandey said that when Bagesh’ condition worsened on Friday, he was rushed to Jaunpur District Hospital but he died before reaching the hospital.
Bagesh's brother, Anil Kumar Mishra, who also reached the district hospital, then went to the jail, accused Jail officials of negligence in treating his brother.
After learning about Bagesh Mishra's death, the jail inmates became furious and went on the rampage, attacking Jail officials with whatever they could lay their hands on and engaged in heavy stone pelting attacking whoever stood in their way. A jail warden, the first one who tried to stop them, ended up with a fractured leg and was being treated for his injuries. The situation came to such a pass that Divisional Commissioner, Varanasi, Deepak Agarwal and IG, SK Bhagat reached the jail along with additional police reinforcements to restore order.