Lucknow: Two jail warders Naresh Verma and Karmveer Singh were suspended on Thursday for allegedly thrashing and threatening the four accused involved in the recent attack on Bhim Army chief Chandrashekhar Azad. The incident took place in Saharanpur jail on Monday night where the four accused belonging to the upper caste are currently lodged.
Jailer RP Chaudhary, meanwhile, said, “The two ‘bandi rakshaks’ (jail warders) have been suspended and an internal inquiry initiated.”
On Wednesday, relatives of the accused men approached the district magistrate (DM) with a collective application seeking action against the two jail warders for “thrashing and abusing the accused men.”
Salochana Singh, a relative of one of the accused, said, “We came to know of the incident on Wednesday when we visited them in jail. Two guards had thrashed our children; this is against the law. We met the DM and demanded strict action and an FIR against the two jail guards.”
The four accused Vikas Kumar, Prashant, Lovish and Vikas — had allegedly fired shots at the vehicle of the Dalit leader on June 28 while he was in Deoband. Azad suffered injuries in the attack after a bullet grazed his stomach. The four accused were arrested from Haryana’s Ambala district on July 2.
