Punjab police suspended seven prison officers and arrested five of them. (representative)
Chandigarh:
To embarrass the Punjab police, a video clip surfaced on Sunday allegedly showing a group of gangsters held in a Tarn Taran jail and the murder of two rival gang members accused in the Sidhu Moosewala murder case last week in prison ‘celebrated’.
Seven prison officials were suspended and five of them, including the prison inspector, were arrested following the viral clip that also showed the gangsters pointing to the bodies lying on the floor with some police officers on duty nearby.
Seven gangsters have been arrested in connection with Sunday’s killings at Goindwal Sahib Central Prison in Tarn Taran district.
Mandeep Singh alias Toofan of Batala and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna, a resident of Budhlada, who were charged in the murder case of singer Sidhu Moosewala, were killed in a prisoner clash.
Initial investigations revealed that the clash was between members of two gangs led by Jaggu Bhagwanpuria and Lawrence Bishnoi.
In the more than minute video, allegedly made by some members of the Lawrence Bishnoi gang who were in jail, an inmate who identified himself as Sachin Bhiwani said that the gangsters, who were killed, were accomplices of Jaggu Bhagwanpuria. .
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has faced opposition parties over alleged deterioration of law and order in the state.
After the video went viral, Punjab Police on Sunday suspended seven prison officers and arrested five of them for allegedly negligently and abetting prisoners in a video leak case, Inspector General of Police (HQ) Sukhchain Singh Gill said here.
He identified the five arrested officials as Prison Superintendent Iqbal Singh Brar, Additional Prison Superintendent Vijay Kumar, Assistant Prison Superintendent Harish Kumar, Assistant Sub-Inspector Joginder Singh and ASI Harchand Singh.
The other two suspended prison officers are Extra Jail Superintendent Jaspal Singh Khaira and Head Constable Savinder Singh.
“A new case has been registered under Section 66 of Information Technology Act, Section 52 of Prisons Act, Sections 506 and 149 of Indian Penal Code (IPC) at Goindwal Sahib Police Station,” said the cop.
After last Sunday’s murder, Punjab Police had registered an initial information report (FIR) on Monday.
“Initially, the case was registered against prisoners including Manpreet Singh alias Bhau, Sachin Bhiwani alias Sachin Chaudhary, Ankit Latti alias Ankit Sirsa, Kashish alias Kuldeep, Rajinder alias Joker, Hardeep Singh alias Mamma, Baldev Singh alias Nikku, Deepak alias Mundi and Malkit Singh alias Kita,” he said.
He said that after last week’s incident, police and prison authorities transferred the suspects to different prisons in the state.
Gill said the Punjab Police have strict instructions from the Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann-led government that any government employee found negligent should be dealt with strictly.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NewsMadura staff and is being published from a syndicated feed.)
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