"Police have assured me that they will consult senior officers and take a decision on registering an FIR within a day," Neha Shah said.
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Varanasi: A deputy jailer's daughter here has filed a complaint against the district jail superintendent alleging harassment of her mother.
Neha Shah, daughter of deputy jailer Meena Kanojia, claimed that she filed the complaint against Varanasi District Jail Superintendent Umesh Kumar Singh at the Lalpur Pandeypur Police Station.
"Police have assured me that they will consult senior officers and take a decision on registering an FIR within a day," she said.
As it happened, Umesh Singh was transferred to Sonbhadra District Jail. He replaced Saurabh Srivastava, who has been sent to Varanasi on special duty temporarily.
The matter gained traction after a video of deputy jailer Meena Kanojia accusing Umesh Singh of harassment showed up on social media.
Following the video's appearance, she too was transferred to Naini District Jail.
According to a March 18 order issued by Director General (Prisons) PV Ramasastri, Umesh Singh has been placed on special duty in Sonbhadra without any additional salary or allowances.
The order said that the appointment is temporary and will remain in effect until further notice.
Neha Shah's complaint alleges that her mother, a Scheduled Caste officer, faced sustained mental and physical harassment from Umesh Singh for months. "He frequently humiliated my mother, used caste-based slurs, and hurled abuses at her in his office." Umesh Singh also made "obscene" gestures, pressuring her mother to visit his office and house, and coercing her to lure female inmates for him to exploit, she alleged.
"When my mother resisted, he threatened to end her career, harm our family, and even take our lives," she alleged.
Shah also claimed that Singh had a history of misconduct. "He did the same with former deputy jailer Ratan Priya. You can ask her," she wrote in her complaint.
She alleged that Singh also tried to drive her mother to commit suicide and boasted that no action could be taken against him.
"He said he would contest elections in 2027, become the jail minister, and teach my mother a lesson," she claimed.
Shah has also accused Umesh Singh of allowing large-scale corruption and drug trafficking to take place inside the prison.
"A recent viral video clearly showed drugs being sold in the jail. It was authentic, but no action was taken due to his influence," she alleged.