Convicts write to chief justice over corruption in jail

AMBALA: Within a month of a three-member committee headed by a former high court judge submitting a report on Haryana jails, a group of convicts lodged at the high security model jail here on Wednesday alleged rampant corruption by jail officials and staffers. The matter came to light when convicts lodged a complaint with the district and sessions judge as well as the chief justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court for their immediate intervention in this matter.The complaint has been lodged via post. The jail staffers have confirmed the lodging of the complaint.
SPS Chauhan, the jail superintendent dismissed the allegations by saying that these were targeted at defaming him and the jail authorities by some vested interests. "Everything is accounted for and we have a transparent system here. Besides, various authorities visit the jail regularly and interact with the inmates of the jail too," Chauhan said. However, there are some people who indulge in politics here too, he added.
Inquiries revealed that jail officials have been accused of forcing undertrials and convicts lodged in the jail to pay for certain `privileges`. Besides there are also accusations of money being asked for getting lighter work, no work or getting `sick leave` in jail.