Dhanbad, Oct. 3: A prisoner of Jamtara sub-jail has been admitted to the emergency ward of PMCH after being allegedly thrashed by the jailer.

Rajendra Mandal, imprisoned for life and serving the term at the Jamtara sub-jail, suffered serious head injuries.

Sources said the sub-jail has a sanctioned capacity of 41 prisoners ? 38 male and three females ? in altogether three rooms. But 366 prisoners have been packed in the jail leading to frequent fights for space.

According to 38-year-old Mandal, it was one such fight again last night. ?Last night around 9 pm, a minor scuffle broke out among the prisoners over the question of space for sleeping in the cell. The jailer overpowered me and banged my head on the wall.

?I cried for medical help but nobody came to my aid. It was only at 9 in the morning today that I was taken to an ENT specialist of the government hospital. He referred me to the PMCH in Dhanbad and I reached Dhanbad at 12.30 pm,? Mandal, of Dudhani village in Jamtara, said.

A doctor at the PMCH said: ?He received head injuries and his right eye has turned black due to the assault. Though he is responding well, he might have received serious internal injuries which could be confirmed only after investigation.?

No FIR has been lodged regarding the assault inside the jail in Jamtara and hence the police are clueless about the entire episode. The Superintendent of jail in Jamtara, Akhilesh Sinha, also expressed his ignorance about the incident.

The jailer, however, was quick to defend himself. Speaking to The Telegraph, Dev Nath Jha said he had not assaulted Mandal and that he was injured after he slipped and fell on the ground. However, going by the nature of Mandal?s injuries, the jailer?s version sounded unconvincing. A fall on a slippery ground is more likely to cause injuries on the back of the head ? unlike in the case of Mandal who received injuries on his forehead and eyes. Wife Pramila too blamed the jailer.

A staff of the Jamtara sub-jail, however, said Mandal enjoyed a lot of clout in the jail with help from his father and brother, who too were lodged with him.

He alleged that Mandal used to charge money from the other prisoners for sleeping space. And some of the jail staff knew this. It was a dispute over the booty that led to the fight, he alleged.