Mandoli prisoner illegally released from jail, investigation continues

A man in his 40s, who was in Mandoli Prison in connection with two criminal cases, was reportedly released for about two weeks between August and September, even though no court issued a release paper directing prison authorities to release him to leave. the case said Tuesday.

After being released, the prisoner – identified as Vijay Kumar – started wandering around Delhi, officials said. The matter came to light only after other inmates raised the issue and alleged that authorities were biased in favor of Kumar, following which prison officials, realizing their mistake, rushed to bring him back to jail, said the people.

Kumar remains in jail and an inquiry has been initiated against two deputy superintendents, senior officials at Mandoli told HT.

Sharing details of the episode, senior jail officers said Kumar was lodged in Mandoli in June in connection with two cases – a kidnapping case and a case of causing grievous assault.

Police said in August that one of his cases was pending before the Tis Hazari court.

“We don’t know what happened, but on August 28 the prisoner was released. He toured Delhi for days and no one in the jail even noticed that a prisoner was missing. He was not released on bail or parole,” said a senior officer, who declined to be named.

“The investigating officer came to the prison in one of his cases and was shocked to discover that the prisoner was missing. In the meantime, other inmates had also noticed that their ward was missing and had filed several complaints with the jail authorities,” the police officer said.

The court took note of one of the complaints – filed by a member of the Neeraj Bawana gang – alleging that Kumar had offered ‘hefty bribe’ to jail guards RS Meena and Deepak Kumar and was released from jail.

Court papers from the Tis Hazari District Court show that the complaint was processed through his lawyer and a judge ordered that notices be given to the prison inspector and the two officials.

Separately, a senior official at the prison headquarters said: “We received complaints from prisoners and were later informed by the IO that a prisoner had been wrongly released. The names of two deputy inspectors also emerged. When we checked on September 11, we found it was true (that Kumar was missing). The next day we were told that the prison guards had brought him back in a private vehicle. We investigate all allegations of bribery and wrongdoing.”

HT contacted Deputy Inspector General (Mandoli range) Rajesh Chopra, who said the jail officials had gone haywire and released Kumar.

“We realized the mistake after prisoners filed complaints… The prisoner was brought back on September 12. We have also informed the court. An internal investigation and legal proceedings are underway into the involvement of the prison’s two deputy inspectors. We will take appropriate action in the matter,” he said.