Prisoner shot dead inside Bihar jail; 5 injured in ensuing

An undertrial prisoner was shot dead inside the district jail here in Vaishali district on Friday while at least five other inmates were injured in a clash that followed, an official said. It is suspected that he was killed by one of the five injured prisoners.

"A pistol and some cartridges have been recovered. Further investigations are on," said District Magistrate Udita Singh who reached the jail along with police officials upon learning of the incident.

The deceased was identified as Manish Teliya who is in his early 20s and was brought to the jail less than a year ago after he was arrested in a case of loot, police sources said. The inmates went berserk after the incident and five inmates were injured in the clash that ensued.

The five were admitted to a hospital where a large police contingent has been deployed, the sources said. Officials are awaiting clearance from the doctors to record statements of the injured to get a clue about how the weapon found its way inside the jail, who procured it and what was the provocation behind the attack.

Meanwhile, Hindustani Awam Morcha president Jitan Ram Manjhi and state RJD spokesman Chitaranjan Gagan came out with statements expressing alarm over the incident. They also accused the Nitish Kumar government of capitulation before law-breakers..