Murder inside a high security jail may sound strange but the deaths of two jail inmates in the Ghazipur district jail in Uttar Pradesh this week indicates that the two did not die a natural death.
Preliminary investigations, according to the police sources, point towards a murder plot aimed at eliminating a sharp-shooter Ram Bachan Yadav, who was lodged in Ghazipur jail. His two accomplices became victims by accident.
Yadav, who had several cases of heinous crime against him, and his friends in the jail, Wasim and Guddu, had consumed cold drinks from the jail canteen on Monday.
The three convicts fell seriously ill after consuming cold drinks and were rushed to the BHU Hospital in Varanasi.
Yadav and Wasim died in hospital while Guddu’s condition is said to be critical.
Jail officials, who initially claimed that the three had attempted suicide, are now admitting that this could be a case of murder.
The officials are hinting towards the involvement of another hardcore criminal lodged in the same jail, with whom Ram Bachan Yadav had a dispute.
“These two were good friends before their arrest but became enemies after they were brought to this jail. The two had some disputes over money and property and were known to have frequent clashes inside the jail premises,” said a jail official.
The murder of the two inmates has fuelled security concerns about jails where hardcore criminals and terrorists are lodged.
“If this is taken as a case in point, then it is rather easy to eliminate any criminal inside the jail. We need to take stern steps to prevent recurrence of such acts,” said a top police official.