One person was feared dead in Dum Dum jail on Saturday after clashes broke out between inmates and jail officials over a bar on meeting visitors to prevent the spread of the coronavirus.

Several inmates were feared to have escaped the jail by scaling the boundary wall with the help of a makeshift ladder, sources said. There was no official confirmation from police or jail officials on the death or the escape of inmates.

Several rounds of gunshots were fired to bring the mob under control, sources said. At least 18 people, including inmates and jail officials, were injured.

The officer on special duty, correctional home services, Arun Gupta, did not respond to phone calls or text messages from Metro.

Multiple text messages to Bengal’s director general of police Virendra also didn’t yield any response.

The trouble began around 10.30am when some inmates got into an altercation with jail officials over the bar on “interview”, police sources said.

Prisoners are allowed to meet acquaintances on prior appointment. Such meetings are called “interview” in jail parlance.

Some jails in Bengal have glass partition walls between the inmates and their visitors and they can communicate over a phone line that connects both sides.

But Dum Dum Correctional Home, like some other jails, has a grilled partition that allows both parties to communicate directly.

The correctional home services recently passed an order to stop interviews to prevent the possible spread of the virus inside the jail.

“The trouble could have been averted had the inmates been briefed properly about the reason for stopping the meetings,” said an official.

Another official said officials in several jails have met the inmates and explained the need for such a move.

A still from a video of inmates scaling a boundary wall of the jail

A fresh order was issued by the correctional services department late on Saturday revoking the earlier order of cancellation of “interviews”.

The new order said inmates will be allowed to meet their acquaintances but with due care to prevent possible spread of the coronavirus.

There are around 3,000 inmates in Dum Dum jail and around 100 jail officials.

“Some of them barged into the jail kitchen and started bursting LPG cylinders, leading to a fire. Some threw bricks and concrete boulders over the boundary wall, trying to target police on the other side,” a jail official said.

The office was ransacked and set ablaze while the main gate of the jail was torched. The fire could be brought under control with the help of fire tenders before police reached the spot and allegedly lathicharge to control the mob.

Officers of the Bidhannagar commissionerate were alerted around two hours after trouble started brewing inside the jail compound, police sources said.

Purported videos recorded on cellphones show inmates scaling a ladder and jumping off on the other side of the boundary wall. Multiple gunshots can be heard during the commotion.

Some home department official described the incident as a “major administrative lapse”. “The situation could have been better managed. There will be an inquiry into the matter,” a senior home department official at Nabanna said.

An IPS officer of the rank of additional director general was posted in the correctional services on Saturday. The post had been lying vacant for a few years, supervised by retired IPS officer OSD Arun Gupta.

Piyush Pandey, who was posted as ADG state crime records bureau, is now ADG correctional services.