Seven inmates of the Goindwal Sahib Central Jail in Punjab’s Tarn Taran district on Monday were booked for the killing of two people held in connection with the murder of singer Sidhu Moosewala, police said.
“On the statement of jail officials, we have booked seven people for attacking their fellow inmates. These accused will be brought on production warrant for questioning to ascertain the exact reason of the clash,” senior superintendent of police (SSP) Gurmeet Singh Chauhan said.
The deceased were identified as Mandeep Singh alias Toofan, a resident of Batala, and Manmohan Singh alias Mohna, a resident of Budhlada in Bhatinda.
Another associate of the deceased gangsters – Keshav – was injured in the incident, which took place around 3.30pm on Sunday, according to a jail official aware of the matter.
Initial investigation indicated that the three victims belonged to the Jaggu Bhagwanpuria gang and they were attacked by some inmates, who are also accused in the Moosewala murder case but belong to the Lawrence Bishnoi Gang.
Late on Sunday night, police officials said two more inmates were hospitalised after receiving injuries in the clash that broke out in the jail.
Those booked on Monday belonged to the Bishnoi gang – Manpreet Bhau, Sachin Bhiwani, Ankit, Kashish, Rajinder, Arshad Khan and Malkit Singh. The inmates were booked under sections 302 (murder), 307 (attempted murder) of Indian Penal Code (IPC) and various provisions of the Prisons Act at Goindwal Sahib police station.
The deadly clash on Sunday prompted prison authorities to separate as many as 18 inmates belonging to the two gangs and send them to five different prisons. “Both the gang members have been separated,” the SSP said.
The inmates were shifted to Kapurthala, Ferozepur, Roop Nagar, Hoshiarpur and Amritsar prisons.