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Bhubaneswar jail staff taken hostage
by Sarada Lahangir

     Bhubaneswar (Orissa): A 40-hour hostage drama at the Bhubaneswar Jail ended on Friday following the release of six persons, including the Jailer, who were held captive by the irate inmates. The inmates released them after the jail authorities conceded to their demands. The crisis began on Tuesday when over 100 inmates of the Padampur sub-jail overpowered the jailer, three wardens and two staff and locked them inside a cell to protest against the low quality as well as quantity of food served to them. They also demanded the removal of the Jail Superintendent, Joseph Barik, who they claimed was corrupt. "The superintendent is corrupt. I have been observing for one and half months that he is torturing the prisoners. We didn't have any other alternative other than this to press for our demands," said Trilochan Rana, one of the undertrials. Earlier, the inmates had also locked the main gate of the jail from inside and cut off power supply to prevent the police from entering the premises. The inmates only relented after they received an assurance from the district administration that their grievances would be redressed.

     Barik, however, dismissed the complaints of the inmates, claiming that the issue had gone out of hand because the jail was overcrowded. "We went inside around 5 O'clock. All of a sudden, they attacked us. There were three sweepers and one warden along with us. They were complaining against poor quality of food. Actually, the capacity of the jail is around 50, but all of a sudden there was a big rush of inmates. That is why there was some mismanagement and irregularities,"Barik said. Barik, who was eventually suspended, also denied that he was tortured by the inmates. Meanwhile, Orissa Home Secretary Santosh Kumar has said that the guilty would be punished after a proper investigation. "An enquiry will be done. If their complaint regarding qualitative and quantitative food is found true, then action will be taken against the jail staff. Otherwise, action will taken against those who were involved in it," Kumar said. At present, the jail houses around 105 prisoners, including five women inmates.

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