Coronavirus scare sets off clash in north Kolkata jail
Policemen are taking rounds of the jail premises in an attempt to control the situation
A clash broke out between groups of inmates and jail staff amid the coronavirus scare in Dumdum Central Jail, Kolkata.
Police had to fire tear gas shells inside a jail to quell the clash, reports the NDTV.
Prisoners reportedly asked the authorities to release them as cases of coronavirus increased.
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Several people have been injured in the clash at Dumdum Central Jail. The injured have been taken to hospital.
Policemen are taking rounds of the jail premises in an attempt to control the situation. They were attacked by the prisoners when they first entered from the gates.
The inmates have been seeking immediate bail so that they could go home instead of being locked up with others, who could be infected with coronavirus, in a closed environment.
On Friday, the jail authorities stopped the practice of inmates being allowed to meet their families to minimise risk of contracting coronavirus. The family meeting window is shut till March 31.
A decision by the jail authorities to offer 15-day parole to prisoners who have spent more than 10 years in jail and have a clean record also reportedly angered some of the inmates. They then went on to set fire to portions of the jail. Three fire engines rushed to the spot to douse the flames.
West Bengal government's State Minister of Correctional Administration Ujjwal Biswas and senior departmental officers have been trying to reason with the inmates to control the situation.
