Probe initiated into Varanasi jail riot

A high-level probe has been initiated in Varanasi prison riot that left many injured on Saturday and Monday, an official said on Wednesday.

The probe is being conducted by S.K.Srivastava, deputy inspector general (Prisons).

The state government has asked Srivastava to complete the inquiry and submit the report within a fortnight.

The government has also asked the officer to identify the culprits, both from prison inmates and jail officials. Besides, he has been asked to specify the reason behind such a violence that left over a dozen people injured. A senior jail official was brutally attacked and another was held hostage in the violence.

Two senior district jail officials have since been transferred out of Varanasi and the 18 prisoners identified for being involved in the prison riot, have been shifted to other jails in eastern Uttar Pradesh.

Prisons Minister Balwant Singh Ramoowalia had earlier, during his on-spot inspection of the Varanasi jail, pointed out that prima facie the rioting seemed to be result of "wide spread corruption".