Jharkhand High Court Slams Govt Over Jail Security Lapses, Demands Action on Senior Officials

Ranchi: The Jharkhand high court on Tuesday pulled up the state govt and the jail administration for not having filed a proper affidavit on security lapses in the Birsa Munda Central Jail at Hotwar .A division bench of Chief Justice Tarlok Singh Chauhan and Justice Rajesh Shankar were hearing a public interest litigation initiated suo moto after a video of two inmates dancing went viral. The incident was widely published in the media after which the court took cognizance of the matter on Nov 14 last year.The court directed the govt to file a supplementary affidavit informing as to what action has been taken against the jail superintendent and IG (prisons).

The govt has only informed about the assistant jailer and warder of the jail being suspended, which apparently is not enough. Senior officials have been left out and no action has been taken against them, the HC said.The bench also sought information with regards to operation of mobile jammers inside the jail campus. The court queried for details of persons captured on CCTV inside the jail who have allegedly provided mobile phones with internet access to the inmates.

The case will again be heard after a fortnight.The court cautioned the govt that if appropriate action is not taken against senior jail officials responsible for maintaining the security of the jail, an independent enquiry will be conducted by a high-level committee in the matter.The accused inmates has been identified as Vidhu Gupta and Siddharth Singhania.