UP: 4 jail officials face action as video of inmate flashing pistol goes viral

Action has been initiated against four officials of Unnao district jail, after a video of two inmates flashing a countrymade pistol inside the prison premises went viral on the social media, officials said Wednesday.

The Uttar Pradesh home department, however, came up with a bizarre clarification saying the pistol was made of "clay" and looked real as one of the two inmates is a "good painter".

The department said that the video of the inmates-- Amrish and Gaurav Pratap Singh alias Ankur was circulated on the social media on June 23.

Terming the entire sequence of events as serious, Additional Director General (Prisons) Anand Kumar said, "In the probe, it was found that the incident was done in collusion with some jail officials to put pressure on the jail administration."
In a statement, the state home department said, "During the probe, it was found that Gaurav is a very good painter, and the countrymade pistol shown in the video is of clay (mitti)."