Sitamarhi jail superintendent suspended

PATNA: The state government on Friday suspended the Sitamarhi jail superintendent Umesh Prasad Singh on the charge of negligence in duty and financial irregularities.
IG (Prisons) had ordered a second probe into the suicide bid by a woman Maoist prisoner, Shivani, lodged in the Sitamarhi district jail. "The molestation charge could not be proved but several other charges against Singh were found true," said Anand Kishore, IG (Prisons).He also gave credit to The Times of India which prominently carried the report twice and created a pressure on the department concerned to hold a proper investigation into the allegations.
Kishore said the charges against Singh ranged from taking bribe to authoritarian behaviour inside the prison. "Sitamarhi DM Ashwini D Thakre submitted the investigation report to Home (Prisons) department which forwarded it to the state government. One senior deputy collector would be deputed as the prison superintendent of the Sitamarhi jail till the posting of any prison official there," he said.
Earlier, Kishore had sent back the first probe report to the Sitamarhi district magistrate. "We found the first probe report inconclusive so a fresh probe report," said Kishore.
He said the Sitamarhi DM was on leave when the incident took place on June 16 at the Sitamarhi district jail. An ADM was ordered to submit the probe report. But after finding it unsatisfactory, a second probe was ordered which was conducted by the DM herself," Kishore added.
According to a prison official, who did not wish to be quoted, the probe report submitted by the ADM was clearly influenced by few local officials. There were many loopholes in the first report.
Shivani, lodged at the Sitamarhi district jail on June 16, suffered minor burn injury after attempting suicide inside the prison. She had accused the jail superintendent Singh of trying to outrage her modesty. Kishore said Shivani poured kerosene oil before setting herself afire but was saved by jail guards who immediately covered her with a blanket. She was treated at the jail hospital.