Jail clash leaves 9 injured, probe on

Nine persons, including a Myanmarese national, were injured when inmates of high-security Sajiwa Jail clashed among themselves.

Nine persons, including a Myanmarese national, were injured when inmates of high-security Sajiwa Jail clashed among themselves. The incident has prompted DGP (Prisons) A K Parashar to launch a probe into the matter.

This is the second instance of violence among the Sajiwa inmates in the last few years. The prison holds all arrested militants and other National Security Act (NSA) detenues, besides other convicts.

The incident is said to have arisen out of differences between inmates of two adjacent blocks. As both sides began pelting objects at each other, security personnel had to move in and use force to restore normalcy. Several casualties are said to be due to a security crackdown. All the injured have been admitted to the Jawaharlal Nehru Government Hospital.

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The injured Myanmarese was among 15 persons arrested by security forces in Moreh last month. Initially, all 15 hailing from the Arakan region of Myanmar bordering Bangladesh were suspected to have Al Qaeda links, but later interrogation proved them to be Bengali-speaking Myanmarese Muslims who illegally crossed the border looking for work as labourers. Apart from the injured Myanmarese, all others are said to be militants.

Parashar said he would investigate the matter and see if there were any lapses in the security setup.