Prisoners protest for day six

HYDERABAD: An uproar was created in the already tense Hyderabad Central Jail when, on the sixth day of prisoner agitation, authorities allegedly cut the inmates’ gas, electricity and water supplies on Wednesday. Jail authorities have not confirmed or commented on the allegations. The inmates climbed on the jail’s barracks and protested against the move demanding the suspension of the Jail Superintendent Zulfikar Langha.

The move from the jail authorities came five days after the prisoners started protesting the search operation in Khairpur Jail on April 12, in which one prisoner was killed and several injured. The inmates fear a similar operation in Hyderabad jail, which has over 1,800 prisoners. They demand a guarantee by government officials that such a step would not be taken.

According to the prisoners, when a committee of 11 inmates went to meet Langha on Tuesday to discuss prisoners’ rights, they were threatened, locked in a room and tortured. Other prisoners broke down the door and released the confined prisoners. Meanwhile, jail authorities claim that prisoners are not being mistreated in any way and rather are being provided with more and better facilities than those required under the jail manual.