A murder convict, lodged in Jodhpur Central Jail, has started a hunger strike, demanding that he be moved to open jail.
According to sources, murder convict Parikshit Bharti had on July 28 written to the DG (Jail), state government and the legal service authority of the high court, warning them that if his application for shifting him to the open jail was not granted, he would sit on an indefinite hunger strike.
He alleged that the authorities failed to act on his application and began hunger strike in the jail on August 1. He also alleged that the jail administration has been acting "arbitrarily" on granting permission to shift to open jail.
Jail superintendent Vikram Singh, however, refuted the allegations and said that his case in under consideration as he had absconded after jumping parole for 11 years. "We have referred the matter to higher-ups and will decide accordingly," Singh said.
According to the jail rules, those convict, who have completed six-year-and-eight-months' term in jail, are eligible for the open jail. But according to the sources, Bharti, despite serving over 10 years in jail, has not yet been shifted to open jail.
Singh said the selection of prisoners for open jail was done on seniority basis as there were many eligible prisoners. "It is everybody's wish to come out to open jail but the shifting depends upon seniority and vacancy," the jail superintendent said.
