Lucknow, May 15 (IANS): The UP Government has taken serious note of the shootout in Chitrakoot jail in which at least three undertrials were killed on Friday. On the instructions of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, five personnel including Chitrakoot Jail Superintendent S.P. Tripathi and jailer Mahendra Pal have been suspended.
Director General Jail (DG) Anand Kumar said that five personnel including Jail Superintendent Tripathi and jailer Mahendra Pal have been suspended. A new superintendent and jailor have been posted in their place.
Ashok Kumar Sagar has been appointed as Jail Superintendent and C.P. Tripathi as the new Jailor.
Officials say how the pistol reached the jail is not yet clear. There will be a judicial inquiry into the incident, the process of which has been started.
Chitrakoot police has registered an FIR and a through and detailed investigation will be carried out into the incident.
Among the suspended personnel are the head warder of the jail and a PAC soldier posted in security arrangements. DG Jail Anand Kumar said that investigations will be conducted from all possible angles.
To investigate the incident, a team comprising Commissioner Chitrakoot D.K. Singh, IG Chitrakoot, K. Satyanarayana and DIG Prison Headquarters Sanjeev Tripathi has been constituted. The report will be submitted directly to the Chief Minister.
As per reports, an undertrial Anshul Dixit had opened fire at another gangster Mukeem Kala who died on the spot. In the shootout, another criminal, Mirajuddin, also received gunshot injuries and died.
Mirajuddin is said to be a close confidant of mafia don and Bahujan Samaj Party MLA Mukhtar Ansari.
The police asked Dixit to surrender but he fired at the police who then also opened fire in which Dixit was killed.
Several rounds were fired inside the jail during the incident.