Shabir Shah not attacked inside Tihar jail: MHA

The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Sunday described reports that Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah was attacked inside Tihar jail as "fake news".

Amid reports on social media that Shah and other Kashmiri and Pakistani inmates in Tihar jail in the national capital were targeted, an official statement issued by the MHA said, "Tihar prison authorities in Delhi have denied the occurrence of any untoward incident or mishap involving inmate Shabir Shah from Jammu and Kashmir."

The statement quoted DIG (Tihar Prisons) Shailendra Parihar as saying that Shah is "absolutely fit and fine".

All other inmates from Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan are also fine.

"The Prison authorities appealed to all to be cautious against fake news," the statement said.

Shah, who was arrested in a decade-old money laundering case, is now in judicial custody and lodged in Tihar jail. A Delhi court on Saturday had deferred the hearing on his bail plea till April 2.

Last week, a Pakistani prisoner was killed during a scuffle inside Jaipur prison on February 21 following a brawl over the "choice of TV channel and volume".

The killing, which came amid heightened rhetoric after the Pulwama terror strike, of its national was taken by Pakistan government with India.

After the Pulwama attack, there were tensions in some places across India after Kashmiri students and traders were targeted.

Supreme Court too took cognizance of such reports and asked the central and state governments to ensure safety and security of Kashmiris across the country.