Vadodara jail brawls under focus

VADODARA: Is the Vadodara Central Jail safe for its inmates? The question is being asked after Saturday morning''s bloody brawl between inmates left at least five injured.
Fights for supremacy between inmates is nothing new for jail authorities, but the latest clash raises concerns as it is the second such incident in two months.
So much so that Inspector General of Police (prisons) H R Gehlot visited the jail on Sunday and promised stern action against those responsible for the violence.
On Saturday, inmate Shakeel Sheikh alias Pahelwan sustained serious head injuries and was admitted to the SSG Hospital.
Sheikh and Suresh Chhara lodged FIRs against each other at the Raopura police station, with Sheikh charging Chhara of having started the ruckus over using the tap first on Friday evening.
The jail officials had not taken any precautionary action against either groups despite a skirmish the earlier day. In fact, the authorities admit that the previous night''s fight was the spark for the bigger brawl the next day.
Sheikh had stated in his FIR that he had given his statement against Chhara to the jail guards. He had also alleged that Chhara and others attacked him to take vengeance over the issue of his giving the testimony.
On the other hand, Chhara filed an FIR stating that the incident on Friday morning took place after Sheikh and others attacked him.
He said that the accused wanted to take revenge for the tiff over filling water the earlier evening.
Paresh Chauhan, prime accused in the NRI Manoj Patel murder case, was also involved in Saturday morning''s incident. It has been alleged that he was one of the persons who attacked Sheikh.
A similar incident was registered at the Raopura police station about two months ago. One of the jail inmates, Jan Mohammed Dafer, had registered an FIR against Ajay Rana alias Sameer and accused him of hitting him with a pipe.
The ruckus started after Rana objected to Dafer''s presence while he was bathing. Another undertrial in the jail, Khalid Sheikh, had also alleged atrocities by jail authorities at around the same time.
He had even complained in the Vadodara sessions court. Khalid had stated that authorities had beaten up at least four inmates without any reason for the ruckus started by Dafer and Rana.
Following this, Gehlot had constituted an inquiry under special inspector general of police Sukhwinder Singh.
Gehlot, who was on a personal visit to the Vadodara Central Jail, told TNN, "The report regarding the earlier incident has not been submitted. However, in the latest incident, strictest of actions will be taken against the authorities found responsible. I will talk to all the staff and will transfer those found guilty, even if it''s the jail superintendent. About those officials who don''t fall under my jurisdiction, I will ask the state government to take appropriate action."