PATIALA: Patiala jail superintendent Jaspal Singh has been placed under suspension for alleged gross negligence of duty, cabinet minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said on Monday.Singh has been accused of allowing ‘unauthorised’ meetings of jailed Inspector General Paramraj Singh Umranangal with some senior police officials.Umranangal is in judicial custody for his alleged role in the Behbal Kalan police firing case.According to the sources, around 16 persons had met the IG inside the Patiala central jail on Saturday and Sunday. As per the jail manual, only two persons are be allowed to meet a prisoner in a day. However, officials up to the rank of AIG of the state police managed to meet Umranangal inside the jail premises, while no entries were made in the prison register.After the matter was reported to the minister, he ordered an inquiry which was conducted by the IG (Prison) Roop Kumar.The IG collected the CCTV footage from the jail corridor and area where the Umranangal met those officials and concluded that the jail manual had been violated.As the report was put before the jail minister, he immediately ordered the suspension of the jail superintendent.Randhawa said it was a serious matter and such dereliction of duty on the part of the jail superintendent could not be tolerated. During his suspension, superintendent Jaspal Singh would report to the ADGP Jails. In his absence, deputy superintendent (maintenance) central jail, Patiala Gurcharan Singh has been given the charge of jail superintendent.However, in his inquiry, the IG jails has given a clean chit to the jail staff for allowing Umranangal’s personal security staff to stay with him inside the jail. The sources said while the IG’s personal security stands withdrawn, the jail authorities had sought additional security for Umranangal and the state police had followed the procedure before deputing the security guards inside the jail.

Stay updated with all the Amritsar Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.