Patna, July 4: A 20-year-old youth, lodged as an undertrial at Beur Central Jail since May, was beaten to death by his fellow inmates at the prison ward in the early hours today.

The incident, which started due to an argument before sleep, took place between 2am and 4am at Tarun Kaksh, also called the adolescent ward, of the jail.

With charges of carelessness being levelled against the jail administration by police, four personnel - two head warders and two warders - had been suspended on charges of carelessness in duty.

The deceased, identified as Chandan Bind, was a resident of the city's Gaurichak area. He was lodged in the jail since May 5 after being arrested in a theft case by the government railway police (GRP).

"Around 2am, a major fight started in the ward. We have come to know that Chandan was mercilessly beaten up by six other inmates for almost two hours. During all this time, the warders had no clue about it. In addition to their suspension, the jail administration has lodged an FIR against the six inmates - Amit Kumar, Mohan Kalia, Bheem, Sonu, Neeraj Kumar and Sipahi alias Chandan," Beur jail superintendent Shivendra Priyadarshi said.

"There were 15 inmates in the ward, which has a total strength of 25, yesterday. This ward is mainly for those who are aged between 18 and 21 years. During interrogation, it has been found that last night Chandan and Amit were sleeping side by side. Chandan's physical built-up was stronger than most others in the ward.

The trouble started around 2am when the leg of Chandan accidentally got rested by Amit's body during sleep. Amit, who was sleeping too, got startled by the weight and pushed Chandan's leg from his body starting an altercation between the two. It seems that the simple altercation turned into a heated argument and Amit called out to his friends who ganged up, overpowered Chandan and started to beat him black and blue. We have come to know the assault continued till 4am when jail officials were alerted," another official at Beur jail said on condition of anonymity.

The official added that Chandan was rescued then and first taken to the jail doctor. "He was unconscious and the doctor referred him to Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH). He was taken to the PMCH at 6.40am but the doctors there declared him dead. The cause of the death would be known after post-mortem," the official said.

Patna senior superintendent of police Vikas Vaibhav alleged the jail administration of negligence and not providing police the right information.

"We came to know some problems were going on inside the Jail around 2.30am.

"Beur police station had been alerted and a team went to the jail. They also requested entry after informing the jail officials. But an information came from inside that everything was fine. Finally, our team was allowed an entry around 11.30am. Help from forensic science teams has been taken for collecting evidence," Vaibhav added.