Prisoner’s family alleges Luksar jailers demanded ₹2 lakh bribe, DM orders inquiry
Suspect Varshney was among the 16 people arrested by a joint team of the Noida police and the special task force on Saturday for allegedly running a fake call centre and duping US citizens of money
The Gautam Budh Nagar district magistrate has ordered an inquiry into allegations that the district jail authorities have threatened to torture a prisoner if his family does not pay them ₹2 lakh as bribe, said officials on Friday.
The allegations have been made by a family member of a suspect, identified as Tushar Varshney, who has been lodged at the district jail in Luksar, Greater Noida, since Sunday, after being arrested in a case registered at the Phase-1 police station under charges of cheating, forgery, criminal conspiracy and relevant sections of the IT Act.
Varshney was among the 16 people arrested by a joint team of the Noida police and the special task force on Saturday for allegedly running a fake call centre and duping US citizens of money.
In a complaint letter marked to Uttar Pradesh chief minister, district judge and district magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, the suspect’s sister Bhumika Varshney said, “The jail superintendent of the district jail, through his deputy jailor, is torturing the undertrial prisoners, beating them badly and illegally demanding ₹2 lakh each from their families”.
Along with the letter, the complainant also attached audio recordings as proof, in which her brother can be heard asking the complainant to bring ₹2 lakh to the jail’s entrance. These audio recordings have also surfaced on social media, said police.
In her complaint, the woman states that she has been receiving calls from a landline number since Tuesday evening. “My brother has been calling from a landline number, asking me to deliver ₹2 lakh to the jail gate; otherwise anything can happen to him. Relatives of other prisoners have also received similar calls. My brother, who is detained in jail, is in tears and is pleading with me to give ₹2 lakh to the jail superintendent to save his life,” states the complaint.
The complainant has further alleged that relatives of other undertrial prisoners are being forced to appoint a specific person as their advocate. “The jail authorities have threatened that if we do not appoint the specified advocate, the life of the prisoner would be in danger inside jail. Whereas, we have already appointed an advocate at the time of remand and he is conducting the bail proceedings,” the woman said.
The complainant has requested a proper investigation in the matter and urged the authorities to take action against the jail authorities.
District Magistrate Manish Verma has taken cognisance of the viral audios and the complaint.
“An inquiry will be done into the case, and will be headed by the additional District Magistrate,” he said.
District jail superintendent did not comment on the matter, stating that he is on leave.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.
Stay updated with all the Breaking News and Latest News from Mumbai. Click here for comprehensive coverage of top Cities including Bengaluru, Delhi, Hyderabad, and more across India along with Stay informed on the latest happenings in World News.