LUCKNOW: Five officials of Uttar Pradesh's Baghpat jail, where dreaded gangster Munna Bajrangi was shot dead on July 9, have been indicted in a departmental inquiry conducted to ascertain their role in the incident and the security lapses. The five officials—jailer Uday Pratap Singh, deputy jailers Shivaji Yadav and S P Singh, head warder Arjinder Singh and warder Madhav Kumar—have been found guilty of laxity in performance of duty.
They have been given three weeks' time to respond to the charges they are found guilty of. They can also be terminated, if they are found guilty, said Chandra Prakash, ADG (prisons), UP.
Prem Prakash Singh alias Munna Bajrangi was killed by another gangster, Sunil Rathi, at the jail premises. The state government had suspended the above mentioned jail officials immediately after the incident and had ordered a probe into their roles by Sanjeev Tripathi, DIG (prisons), Agra.
According to the ADG (prisons), a number of anomalies were detected in the Baghpat jail. The record of those visiting Rathi in jail was not maintained by the prison staff. Moreover, Rathi was allowed to move freely and mix with other inmates inside the prison. The ADG claimed the findings of the investigation also established free movement of people inside the jail premises to meet Rathi. The pistol that was used to kill Bajrangi was smuggled into the jail.
However, neither the ADG nor the DIG revealed the role of each official in the incident.
Deputy jailor SP Singh was on leave at the time of the incident. However, his role in the anomalies on premises had also surfaced during the probe.