Four officials of Patiala Central Jail dismissed for extortion

Aman Sood

Tribune News Service

Patiala, April 25

The Punjab government today dismissed a former Superintendent of Central Jail, Patiala, two Assistant Jail Superintendents and a Head Warder on the charge of violating the jail manual and patronising extortion, torture and inhuman treatment, besides unnatural acts.

Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said an inquiry was entrusted to IG Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh a few months back to probe the allegations levelled by the family members of inmates Brajesh Thakur and Kiranveer Singh.

An FIR has been ordered to be registered at Organised Crime Control Unit, Mohali, against the four officers.

Deputy Superintendent (Grade-2) Rajan Kapoor, the then Superintendent, Assistant Superintendents Vikas Sharma and Sukhjinder Singh and Head Warder Pragan Singh have been dismissed from service, read the orders signed by the Home Secretary (Jails).

The Jails Department in its preliminary report said officials in cahoots with gangsters extorted Rs 15 lakh from Thakur. Another inmate alleged he was sexually tortured and arm-twisted to pay Rs 7 lakh to staffers.

Thakur, who ran a state-funded shelter home, was shifted from a Bihar jail to Patiala on the Supreme Court orders in October.

In a letter to the CM and senior police and civil officials, Thakur’s mother Manorama Devi said she wanted the department to return Rs 15 lakh that was extorted from her son by torturing him under the supervision of jail officials. The report said jail officers allegedly patronised gangster Gaurav Sharma, alias Goru Baccha, who tortured Thakur for three days after switching off the CCTV cameras installed in the jail.

Gangsters Amit Bhura, Bholu Havelian and Kali were also involved in the crime. The report suggests that the gangsters would sexually assault the inmates and videograph the incident at the behest of the accused jail officials. “They would then use mobile phones and get in touch with the family members of the inmates and extort money,” it mentioned.

The ransom was allegedly received through Goru Baccha’s aide Raman, who is a proclaimed offender.  All jail officials were shifted from the Patiala jail following the allegations. Terming the extortion allegations false, Kapoor said he used to deal with gangsters with an iron hand inside the jail. “I have been framed on the basis of statements of inmates who are already facing serious charges,” he added.