After recent spate of violence, 12 Tihar jail officials suspended for dereliction of duty

New Delhi: Twelve Tihar jail officials have been suspended in three weeks for dereliction of duty and allegedly supplying prohibited items to inmates even as the facility has been rocked in recent days by a spate of cases of violence and death of prisoners. In a report submitted yesterday to Delhi Home Minister Satyendra Jain, Tihar jail officials have said that three assistant superintendents, three head warders and six warders have been suspended by them since 21 April. [caption id=“attachment_2246960” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Representational image. Reuters[/caption] The minister had sought a reply from Tihar officials on the increasing cases of violence inside the jail premises. Two convicts, including a lifer, were found dead under mysterious circumstances inside Tihar Jail yesterday. “Most of the officials who were suspended were supplying mobile phones, drugs and other prohibited items inside the jail. Some were charged with dereliction of duty where an inmate was found dead in his ward,” a senior official said. Jail officials said they have seized 48 mobile phones from inmates in two months. They said that chances of smuggling of prohibited items into the jail are the greatest when an inmate goes out for a hearing or is taken for medical treatment. “In both cases, prisoners are escorted by police force on line duty and they allegedly take money from them and supply prohibited items. Petty corruption leads to serious problems,” the official said. According to jail officials, prisoners have used metal fan blade, wire mesh, kitchen knives and even manhole covers in the many cases of violence inside the jail. Meanwhile, jail officials said that in order to step up security at the facility, 80 more jammers are needed although there were issues over their installation due to complaints of network problem from the residents of the area. “There are around three dozen jammers installed inside the jail. We need 80 more. As the jail is situated near a residential area, there are many complains of network issues because of the jammers. Even TRAI guidelines state that we cannot cut access to mobile services in a residential area,” the official said. PTI