Two inmates at Tihar Jail drown in drain, 3 prison officials suspended
New Delhi, Aug. 9 -- Two inmates at Delhi's Tihar Jail died on Friday morning after allegedly slipping and drowning in a stormwater drain inside the prison premises, officials said. Both were serving murder sentences.
The deceased, Amit Kumar and Vinay Kumar, were on gardening duty when the incident occurred around 8.30am.
A guard on a watchtower reportedly saw them fall into the drain.
"We are verifying whether they were told to clean it or acted on their own. It is also possible one slipped and the other tried to help," said a senior jail official, adding that a tilted manhole cover may have caused the mishap.
The drain, about 15 feet deep, contained water. "They were pulled out before falling into the pit but had already drowned," the jail spokesperson said. The Public Works Department, not inmates, is usually responsible for cleaning the drain, he added.
A judicial inquiry has been ordered, and police have sought a detailed probe. The jail administration has also launched an internal investigation.
Three prison staff - a deputy superintendent, an assistant superintendent and a hawaldar - have been suspended for alleged negligence after questioning by a departmental inquiry panel.
Officials are examining why the inmates were near the drain and whether they had any instructions to be there. "This drain is too large to be cleaned manually. We are trying to understand how the inmates accessed it," the spokesperson said....
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