Three undertrials booked after prisoner hit on head with bucket in Nagpur Central Jail

Nagpur Central Jail has seen yet another bout of violence among inmates. An undertrial prisoner was kicked, punched and hit on the head with a plastic bucket on Tuesday morning, and police have since booked three undertrials in connection with the episode. The injured man is being treated at the jail's own hospital.

The assault took place between roughly 9.40 am and 10.20 am, in the stretch between barracks 7 and 8 in the Chhoti Gol section of the prison. Undertrial Vijay Rahangdale was on his way back to his barrack after praying at the Hanuman temple inside the jail. Two fellow undertrials, Durgesh alias Little Pramod Gupta and Ashwin alias Achchi (also spelt Achhi) Mukund Indurkar, are said to have stopped him on the way. They allegedly began by kicking and punching him and then struck him on the head with the bucket, leaving him with a head injury.

The sudden attack caused panic in the area. Hearing Vijay's cries for help, Manoj Dhanwat, a prison staff member on duty, ran to the spot along with other personnel. They pulled the two sides apart, restored order and took the wounded prisoner to the jail hospital, where he was admitted for treatment.

The trouble did not end there. While the staff were still trying to bring matters under control, a third undertrial, Surendra alias Monu Manoj Samudre, started arguing with them. According to the complaint made to police, Sub-inspector Nimje tried to pacify him, but he refused to calm down. He is accused of continuing the argument with the officer, trying to rush at him, and threatening a government employee who was carrying out his duty. In effect, the men who had gone in to stop the assault found themselves facing a quarrel from another inmate.

The jail administration then lodged a complaint with Dhantoli police. On that basis, a case has been registered against Durgesh alias Little Gupta, Ashwin alias Achchi Indurkar and Surendra alias Monu Samudre. The charges relate to obstructing and threatening staff in the discharge of government duty.

The incident has revived concern over security inside the prison. Questions are being asked about how well the administration controls disputes among inmates, whether supervision is adequate, and whether there is a system that can stop quarrels before they turn violent. Concern has also been raised about how safe the inmates are and about the safety of the staff, who are responsible for hundreds of prisoners. Attention is now on whether the jail administration will treat the matter only as a criminal case or also take a serious look at its internal security arrangements.