Raja Bhaiya inspects Lucknow jail, pulls up staff

Lucknow, March 24 (IANS) Facing as many as three incidents of jail riots in different parts of Uttar Pradesh in the last fortnight, state Jails Minister Raghuraj Pratap Singh aka Raja Bhaiyya Saturday inspected the Lucknow Jail and asked prison officials to "improve living conditions".

On an unscheduled visit to the jail, Raja Bhaiyya went through the barracks and met the inmates.

Prison official Duddhi Maurya told IANS that the minister spent three hours inspecting the prison and gave "guidelines about the upkeep of the prison and facilities for jail inmates".

Airing his displeasure at the quality of food being served to prisoners, the minister warned officials of severe punitive action if "course correction was not initiated immediately".

Asking jail authorities to ensure more greenery, the minister also ordered that water coolers be installed in the prison premises.

Asking officials to treat prisoners as any other humans, Raja Bhaiyya told them that he would return to see if his orders were being implemented or not.

The minister also went to the Women's Jail and inspected the facilities there. Miffed at the "poor show", he ordered suspension of Jail Superintendent Amita Dubey.