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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 25

Several companies of the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) will be deployed at four jails in Punjab from Tuesday onwards. Punjab Jails Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said 60 CRPF men would be deployed at Amritsar, Kapurthala, Ludhiana and Patiala jails.

Randhawa said the CRPF has been called to meet shortage of staff and break nexus of gangsters, drugs smugglers with jail staff, if any.  

The Union Government had given a go-ahead to the deployment of Central forces in three jails of Punjab in June this year.

The decision came into light the day a bloody clash broke out in Ludhiana jail, which had left one prisoner dead and several injured, including nearly six policemen. The state will have to pay the requisite cost of the deployment of these CRPF companies in its jails. In general, one CRPF company has around 100 personnel.