Moradabad jailer, deputy jailer suspended over prison manual violations during SP leaders’ meeting with Sambhal accused
Report against Moradabad jail superintendent sent to state government for action as he is a Group A officer, say officials.
The jailer and the deputy jailer of Moradabad district jail have been placed under suspension on the charge of violating the prison manual by allowing several persons inside the jail at a time when a Samajwadi Party (SP) delegation went to meet people arrested in connection with the Sambhal violence, senior officials of the prison administration and reform services said here on Wednesday.
A report against the jail superintendent was sent to the state government in connection with the matter, the officials added. The SP delegation consisted of a former MP and two MLAs.
Director general (DG), Prison Administration and Reform Services, PV Ramasastry said, “Jailer Vikram Singh Yadav and deputy jailer Praveen Singh of Moradabad jail have been suspended in the matter.”
He said the report against the jail superintendent PP Singh has been forwarded to the state government for further action against him as he is a Group A officer, and the government authorities could initiate any action against him.
The DG said, “The action was taken against the Moradabad jail officials on the findings of deputy inspector general (DIG), Prisons Bareilly, Kuntal Kishore, who conducted an inquiry into the violation of the jail manual after the SP delegation’s jail visit.”
He said the DIG mentioned in the inquiry report that the local jail authorities violated the jail manual by allowing the entry of the delegation without adopting the legal procedure for meeting jail inmates. He said the report has been sent to the state government and action against the jail superintendent is awaited.
On Monday (December 2), a Samajwadi Party delegation, including former MP ST Hasan, MLA from Thakurdwara (Moradabad) Nawab Jaan Khan and MLA from Naugawan Sadat (Amroha) Chaudhary Samarpal Singh, visited the Moradabad jail to meet 27 people who were arrested on allegations of being involved in Sambhal violence.
A viral video of the jail visit shows several people, along with the SP delegation, entering the Moradabad jail. The SP leaders claimed that the accused lodged in Moradabad jail were beaten up by the police before being sent to jail. The SP leaders promised to provide legal help to those lodged in jail in the incident.
Four people were killed after violence erupted in Sambhal on November 24 during a court-ordered survey of the Shahi Jama Masjid.
The Hindu side had filed a civil suit in a court on November 19 claiming that the Shahi Masjid of Sambhal was built on the ruins of the Harihar temple in 1529 during the rule of Mughal emperor Babur. The Hindu side demanded a survey of the mosque on which the court appointed a lawyer as the court commissioner for the survey to verify the claim. A team led by the court commissioner carried out the survey of the Masjid the same day (November 19) in the presence of Sambhal district magistrate Rajendra Pensiya, superintendent of police Krishna Kumar and representatives of the state and union governments. The team did a second round of the survey on November 24 after which violence took place in the vicinity.