The Jammu and Kashmir government yesterday removed Director General of Prisons M.K. Mohanty, a day after rioting by prisoners in the Kot Bhalwal jail here. Mohanty has been replaced by Rajinder Tikoo, Transport Commissioner and 1971 batch Indian Police Service officer Rajinder Tikoo. The decision was taken at a Cabinet meeting.Mohanty had come under fire for his failure to check malpractices in prisons. Sunday's clashes between police and militant inmates of Kot Bhalwal brought things to a boiling point. Thirty-six people, including 15 policemen, were injured in the clashes. Police had to fire in the air, burst teargas shells and also cane charge the inmates to bring the situation under control.
Police launched a massive cleanup exercise, seizing two SIM cards and some iron rods. They also found heaps of stones in the jail. Police regained control of the Kot Bhalwal prison after a seven-hour clash on Sunday with 300 prisoners. Militants had taken positions on the rooftops of their barracks to protest against the shifting of some militants, including three Pakistanis and one Afghan. Militants had equipped themselves with LPG cylinders and iron rods, which they extracted by breaking down the concrete pillars of an inner boundary wall. At least 10 of the 19 barracks were ransacked.