Inmate’s kin accuse Patiala jail officials of extortion

Ravneet Singh

Tribune News Service

Patiala, February 28

A family member of an inmate at the Patiala Central Jail has accused the Jail Superintendent and his gunman of extortion.

In a letter to the Punjab DGP (Jails), Rajesh Puri, whose brother-in-law of jail inmate Sohan Singh of Ambala, alleged that Jail Superintendent Surinder Pal Khanna and his gunman Resham Singh demanded Rs 1.30 lakh from him. He also submitted a videorecording as proof of the charge. Puri alleged that the Jail Superintendent and his gunman harassed his brother-in-law and two other inmates. “They threatened to register a fake drug case against them. They also harassed the trio on the pretext of checking. Later, Resham Singh called me up and during a conversation with the Jail Superintendent, Rs 1.30 lakh was sought for sparing the inmates,” Puri said.

The complainant stated that thereafter, he handed over Rs 50,000 to Resham Singh at a canteen on the jail premises on February 27 and also videographed the incident on phone. The Jail Superintendent said he had directed an inquiry into the video of Resham Singh. Refuting the allegation against himself, he said he was being implicated as he implemented strict measures in the jail. “We have caught a number of mobile phones in the jail in the past one month and those against me are levelling false allegations,” he said. Meanwhile, the incident raised questions on how a cellphone was taken inside the jail.

Four officials were sacked last year

The incident has brought to the fore sacking of four jail officials, including Jail Superintendent Rajan Kapoor, in a case of extortion last year. The four were sacked in April 2019 for torturing jail inmates.

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