The prisoners are reportedly being served poor quality food in the jail which has irked inmates. The late night “search” conducted in the jail by waking them up from sleep has also annoyed jail inmates, it is said.
When contacted, Jailor Vijay Kumar Chauhan said that not all prisoners have sat on a hunger strike. “It is one section of prisoners comprising of 60-70 people who are refusing to have food. All other prisoners have taken their food. Rasheed Malabari has instigated the group to sit on fast”, he said.
Mr. Chauhan said that the raids carried out in the jail yesterday have not gone down well with a section of prisoners which is why they are refusing to take food. The “search” was repeated late in the night at 1:30 am, wherein some prisoners were woken up from sleep to be frisked.
“We had conducted a raid yesterday in the jail on information that Rasheed Malabari has weapons and ganja in his possession. We did not find any weapons but found 3 mobile phones. We were not convinced and still felt that there are chances of weapons still being there so we conducted another search at night. We recovered four more mobile phones. Rasheed Malabari and others are frustrated over this which is why they have instigated a few prisoners to sit on a hunger strike. Some naxalites and Naveen Soorinje have also joined this protesting group”, the Jailor said.
The protestors are adamant at their demand that they will not consume food until they speak to the Deputy Commissioner or the District Sessions Magistrate. The DC is busy since Governor H R Bharadwaj is in the city, Mr. Chauhan said while informing that he will meet District Sessions Magistrate to discuss the strike.
Meanwhile, prison officials said all 14 staff members had signed a letter addressed to the Deputy Commissioner and other district-level officials saying they demanded a transfer out of the prison as “they cannot handle the multitude of issues” in the district prison.
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