Jailor, five wardens of Hazaribag Central jail suspended for irregularities

Hazaribag (Jharkhand), Oct 8 (PTI) A jailor and five wardens of Hazaribag Central Jail were suspended for alleged irregularities, a prison official said on Wednesday.

Inspector General (Jail) Sudarshan Mandal has suspended jailor Dinesh Verma and five wardens of the jail on charges of irregularities, said Superintendent of the Central Jail, Hazaribag, Jitendra Singh.

Besides, six wardens, who were ex-army personnel, working on contract, were also removed, he said.

The action was taken against them for allegedly conniving with inmates and also for providing some privileges and facilities to an influential prisoner arrested recently in connection with Khasmahal land scam, the official said.

Following the action, Singh said the main gate of the jail has been closed for security reasons. Magistrates have been deployed there round the clock with the security force deployed outside the main gate, where a camp was set up.

The police were monitoring activities around the jail through CCTV cameras.

One of the key accused in the Khasmahal land scam, Vinay Kumar Singh, who has been lodged in Hazaribag Central Jail, had sent a message to the state government about the poor quality of food in the jail from his phone. This led the authorities to conduct a probe as to how an inmate could have access to a mobile phone and send such a message to the government.

IG Jail also took serious note of providing some special facilities to Vinay Singh, by allowing him to use a phone and other facilities. He was arrested in connection with the Khasmahal land scam case. PTI COR BS RG