हिंदी
(Maheshinder S Grewal says patronage given to undesirable elements by the Jails minister had led to complete breakdown of jail administration in the State)
Chandigarh, September 15 2021 The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has demanded the immediate dismissal of Jails minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for patronizing wrong elements due to which the State has witnessed a complete breakdown in the jail administration as was witnessed in Ludhiana today.
In a statement here, former minister Maheshinder Singh Grewal said the Ludhiana central jail had witnessed another clash today with two gangs openly fighting with each other resulting in serious injuries to many of the inmates. “There are reports of stone pelting being done between both groups”. He said this was not the first such instance of such clashes in the Ludhiana jail. “Earlier four inmates had been hurt in a group clash even as one under trial was killed and ten others were injured in a clash between prisoners and police personnel”.
Asserting that this state of affairs in jails in the State was a direct result of the patronage given to undesirable elements by the Jails minister, Mr Maheshinder Grewal detailed how earlier notorious gangster Jaggu Bhaganwanpuria was given VIP treatment during his stint in Punjab jails. “Same was the case with Uttar Pradesh don Mukhtiar Ansari who was lodged in luxury at the Ropar jail for more than two years”.
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Mr Grewal said it was for the first time ever that all restrictions on under trials and convicts in Punjab jails had been virtually removed. “Mobile phones and drugs are finding their way into jails regularly. Everything is available to inmates at a price”. He said besides this, jails in Punjab were now also being used as safe havens by gangsters to plan kidnappings, extortions and even targeted killings. “All this is public knowledge but the Jails minister has failed to take any proactive action to correct this state of affairs”.
The SAD leader said it was also a fact that Mr Sukhjinder Randhawa did not have any time for jail administration as he was busy indulging in an internal feud for the top chair. “In the light of these facts it is only fit that the chief minister divest Mr Randhawa of the Jails portfolio immediately besides taking urgent corrective steps to bring order in State jails”, Mr Grewal added.
