Jamshedpur, June 1: A recent circular from the office of the inspector-general (prisons) for the jail personnel directing them to ?improve their character? has virtually led to a confrontation between the officials of Sakshi jail and the policemen deputed at the jail gate yesterday.

The policemen deputed at the jail gate protested when they were asked not to accept ?bribes? from visitors.

?I have directed the jail officials, in general, to improve their character and to ensure that nothing unconstitutional which might puts visitors in trouble happens inside or outside the jail,? said IG (prison) Sabhapati Prasad Kushwaha.

?The directive has been issued in accordance with the jail security and the visitors manual.?

The circular also says that the visitors will be allowed to meet the inmates only in groups. Similarly, the inmates will be allowed to meet the visitors when they are at least 10 in number. To reduce the possibility of transaction of bribes between the gatekeepers and the visitors, such a step has been taken, he said.

The move is also seen as an effort to ensure proper security at the jail gates after a hardcore extremist, lodged in Lohardaga sub-jail, escaped through the main gate.

Bhagirath Karzi, superintendent of Sakchi jail, said yesterday they held a meeting to chalk out ways to effectively implement the directives issued by the IG.

?It is a fact that some of the jail officials fleece money from the visitors and also allow entry of prohibited materials, like liquor and cigarettes, inside the jail,? said a senior jail official.

However, efforts by the jail administration to improve the conditions did not auger well with their subordinates, who allegedly threatened that if they were kicked in their stomach they would ?expose? corrupt officials and wage a war against them.

Today?s tussle between the jail officials and policemen prevented visitors from meeting the inmates for at least an hour.

Steps to improve the conditions in the jails of Koderma, Hazaribagh, Lohardaga and some others have been taken after complaints of irregularities poured in, said Kushwaha.