Violence broke out in district jail complex here this evening as inmates clashed with prison staff and set afire part of a building, prompting police to open fire in air.
The inmates were apparently unhappy over shifting of a prisoner and three undertrials to Kapurthala jail from Hoshiarpur district jail, according to police sources.
As prisoner Sandeep Singh and undertrials Ravi Shankar, Narinder Singh and Avtar Singh were being shifted, the other inmates started pelting bricks on prison staff.
They also vandalised the office of the DSP and and set ablaze a video conferencing room in the jail complex. To quell the violent prisoners, jail staff fired in the air, they said.
The fire in the video conferencing room was later doused. Additional police force was called which controlled the situation.
There was no report of casualties.
