By Our Reporter
SHILLONG: The staff of the Shillong district jail have given a 10-day deadline for the removal of Director General (Prison) Kulbir Krishan alleging highhandedness on part of the senior police official who rubbished the allegations on Saturday.
While observing cease work, over 40 jail staff shouted slogans inside the jail premises demanding the immediate removal of Krishan.
However, following assurance from a District Magistrate, who was deputed by the East Khasi Hills Deputy Commissioner Sanjay Goyal to oversee the situation, the staff called off their agitation but not before giving a deadline to remove Krishan failing which they would restore the protests.
“The District Magistrate has assured us of placing our demand before the Government”, a jail staff said.
Earlier, the staff had accused the DG (Prison) of ‘torturing them mentally’.
“He (Krishan) is creating a reign of terror in the Shillong District Jail and the employees are being transferred for reasons best known to him”, the jail staff alleged adding that Krishan is using them to do his personal work at his residence.
Krishan refuted the charges saying the agitation was staged to divert attention from the serious financial irregularities that has come to fore in the Shillong District Jail.
“I found that there has
been serious misappropriation of funds amounting to several lakhs of rupees this July following which I immediately transferred the then Jailor (Shillong district jail) James Marbaniang to Williamnagar jail and put him under suspension recently till the inquiry on the financial irregularities is completed”, he said.
According to Krishan, the audit team from the office of the Accountant General (AG) also wanted to conduct a second audit in view of the irregularities in the cash book and stock register of the Shillong jail.
Earlier, the agitating staff members had also alleged that the DG (Prison) has given undue authority to his driver Rotash Kumar to enter the jail premises, including the high security ward where only authorized persons are allowed to go in.
“Kumar visits the jail complex whenever he feels like and also carries all the important files from the office”, the jail staff alleged.
To this, Krishan said that Kumar was his casual driver and is utilised for conducting checks inside the jail premises. “He goes inside the jail with full authority”, Krishan asserted.
Meanwhile, the employees admitted that they have raised the salary of the casual employees without the knowledge and concurrence of the Director General.
“As per the Government rules, the salary of the casual employees would have to be calculated for a period not more than 20 days in a month. But based on humanitarian grounds, we increased their salary from around Rs 8,000 to Rs 14,000”, an employee said.
Out of the 70-odd employees in the district jail, around 16 are casual or officiating employees.
Reacting to this, the DG (Prisons) pointed out that as per the Government rules, one is not allowed to prepare salaries for the full 30 days in a month for the officiating employees.
Interestingly, the jail staff admitted that during ‘unavoidable circumstances’, they deposit their salaries to a separate current account of the jail to avoid paying the Easy Monthly Installments (EMIs) of the loan which they had taken from the Meghalaya Rural Bank.