Coronavirus Scare Triggers Clash In Kolkata Jail As Prisoners Seek Instant Bail

Some inmates insisted that they be released on parole but when the authorities refused to accept their demand, they launched a violent agitation, a top prison official said.

The police resorted to the use of tear gas shells after the prisoners brickbatted the jail guards. (Image: ANI)

Kolkata: A number of police personnel and prisoners were injured on Saturday after angry inmates of a correctional home indulged in arson and attacked security forces protesting against the bar on meeting family members and the increasing number of pending cases due to the temporary closure of courts owing to the coronavirus (COVID-19) scare, officials said. The police resorted to the use of tear gas shells after the prisoners brickbatted the jail guards and tried to demolish the prison walls in order to escape. The disturbances started on Saturday morning at the Dum Dum Central Correctional Home when a section of prison inmates staged a demonstration demanding they be allowed to meet their family members. They also expressed their displeasure over the number of pending cases for grant of bail continuing to mount due to the shut courts. The authorities have banned meeting of prisoners with their family members till March 31, as a preventive measure against the spread of the disease, declared pandemic by World Health Organisation (WHO). On the other hand, the West Bengal Bar Council has decided not to participate in judicial proceedings in any court in the state till March 31 for the same reason. The clashes began on Saturday morning with the agitated prisoners brick-batting the guards and trying to break a part of the high prison walls, prompting the police to burst the tear gas shells. After some police personnel sustained injuries, including head wounds, more reinforcements were sent from the Barrackpore commissionerate and paramilitary forces deployed to control the violence, the official said. There was also arson in a portion of the jail complex, following which fire tenders were rushed. State Minister of Correctional Administration Ujjwal Biswas and senior departmental officers are at the jail trying to reason with the prison inmates to control the situation.