About half-a-dozen inmates and jail staff of district jail in Ambedkarnagar were injured after they clashed on Wednesday afternoon.

The clash took place over poor quality food served to the inmates and also for alleged extortion of money from them to facilitate good quality food.

The situation could be brought under control after Ambedkarnagar’s District Magistrate Rakesh Kumar Mishra and Superintendent of Police Alok Priyadarshi reached jail along with a heavy police force. They claimed that the situation was completely normal and they would send a report to the government in this regard.

It may be mentioned that Ambedkarnagar District Jail, which came into existence over a year back, also has inmates from Kashmir which makes it a high security jail.

Reports said that the clash between the jail staff and inmates started when some prisoners complained about the poor quality food served to them and the jail warden asked them to accept the food.

The inmates first manhandled the staff and later, when the jail guards came, they went to the terrace of their barracks and started pelting stones. A heavy police force was summoned to control the situation.

Five prisoners including jail officials were injured in the clash.

Meanwhile, panic gripped the staff and inmates of Moradabad district jail when one of the prisoners was found to be coronavirus positive on Thursday.

Reports said that the inmate, identified as Pradeep Kumar, complained of fever and sore throat after which his swab sample was collected and on Thursday and he was found to be positive.

Jail superintendent Umesh Kumar Singh said that Pradeep was shifted to hospital and all who came in contact with him were put in quarantine and the barrack was sanitised.

Earlier, six inmates of Moradabad district jail, including five held for violence in Nawabpura, were found coronavirus positive.