NEW DELHI: At least 4 prisoners were shot dead inside the Tihar central jail here when police opened fire to control a revolt by jail inmates.
“The situation is still not under control even more than 3 hours after the firing,” a police officer said.
The number of casualties is likely to go up as several prisoners were injured in the firing, which took place shortly before noon, he said.
The revolt broke out after the death this morning of a prisoner in the high security jail number one, the officer said.
The Tamil Nadu special police, which guards Tihar jail, opened fire after a baton charge failed to control the “inmates, who went berserk,” the Officer said.
Food could not be served in jail number one and the situation is tense, he added.
Delhi police sent in a special detachment to maintain law and order outside the jail premises. They were not allowed inside the Jail, police sources said.
The jail authorities, who declined to provide details of the revolt and firing, maintained that the “inmate died a natural death.”
The sources said the injured were admitted to a hospital within the jail premises.
Article extracted from this publication >> October 19, 1990
