Three jailers suspended over hookah party

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, June 26

After a month-long probe by the Department of Jails into a hookah party by gangster Nikka Jatana and his aides in the Central Jail here, three prison officials have been placed under suspension.

The suspended officials are Assistant Jail Superintendent Abdul Hamid, Warden Rupinder Singh and Head Warden Harpal Singh. Block in charge Assistant Superintendent Tarsem Pal has been transferred.

Jail Superintendent Balkar Singh Bhullar said after receiving orders from senior officials, the three jail officials were immediately placed under suspension for negligence.

“When inmates were holding a hookah party inside their cell, the officials displayed negligence on duty as they failed to act. The gangsters made a video and posted it on social media. They even enjoyed Punjabi songs on an LED TV in their barrack,” added Bhullar.

The probe report questioned the presence of banned substances, including hookah, inside the jail and the role of officials on duty.

After the matter came to light on May 16, Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa had marked a probe to ADGP (Prisons) Parveen Kumar Sinha. The probed was conducted by DIG (Prisons) Surinder Saini, who submitted the report to the ADGP.

The jail had recently witnessed a major controversy after Punjabi singer Karan Aujla entered the premises with police escort on April 7. He spent considerable time with then Jail Superintendent Rajiv Arora, who was later placed under suspension.