Probe ordered into poor construction of prisons

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, June 26

Days after an undertrial broke off an iron bar from the gate of his cell in Nabha Jail and allegedly killed the main accused of sacrilege incidents in the jail, state Jail Minister Sukhinder Randhawa today announced an inquiryinto substandard material used in the construction of this and other jails.

Randhawa told The Tribune the Nabha jail was constructed recently besides some others in Punjab but it seemed that inmates could easily break off iron bars and use those in clashes or murders.

“I have received complaints from Nabha and other jails about poor construction. Some jails like in Amritsar have the issue of water-logging due to improper drainage and low-plinth level. We may even order a vigilance inquiry later,” he said. Randhawa said the new jails were constructed during the Akali-BJP regime.

He said as per the probe so far, the two accused waylaid Bittu and hit him with the iron rod on his head. He said they had broken off the rod earlier and seemed to be waiting for an opportunity.