Prisoners set a barrack afire, thrash one inmate in Varanasi

A group of prisoners in the district jail here allegedly set one of the barracks on fire and thrashed an inmate who reportedly had cooperated with jail officials following the clash of the prisoners with the staff, police said today.
Last night, Harendra Singhwas beaten up by a group of inmates who were furious with him for cooperating with the jail officials. The prisoners then also set one of the barracks on fire, Circle Officer (Cant) Raj Kumar Yadav said.
The fire was, however, extinguished on time, Yadav said.
Soon after the incident,a posse of police personnel was deployed in jail which brought the situation under control, he said.

Singh was reportedly close to former Jail Superintendent Ashish Tiwari, whose transfer inmates had demanded last week.
Tiwari was shifted and B D Pandey took charge as the new superintendent of the district prison yesterday.

Inmates of the district jail had gone on a rampage seizing control of a section of the prison barracks following a clash with staff and taking Tiwari hostage on Saturday.
The inmates turned violent after two of their prison mates were allegedly beaten up by guards. They were also unhappy over several issues, including the "poor quality" of food served at the prison. Tiwari was freed after seven hours in captivity following talks with the inmates.

District Magistrate Raj Mani Yadav said a magisterial inquiry has been ordered to probe the entire incident and those responsible for the violence will not be spared.