What is lemon scam? Scandal rocking Punjab prison

A jail officer in Punjab has been suspended
over allegations that he misused the funds allocated for purchasing lemons for inmates’ diet. He is facing a charge of registering fake entries for the purchase of lemons.

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Gurnam Lala, the superintendent of
Kapurthala Modern Jail, has been suspended after jail records showed that about
50 kg of lemons were purchased but inmates said they did not get a single one.

According to NDTV, Gurnam registered fake
entries for lemons when its price shot up last month. One kg lemon has cost Rs 200.
The jailer had purchased the lemons between April 15 and 30, during
which the prices of lemons were skyrocketing across the country.

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The matter came to light when a two-member
inspection team sent by ADGP (Jail) Virendra Kumar raided the jail on May 1 and
the inmates told the team that they did not get lemons in the lunch. The
investigation team also could not find lemons in the jail.

Punjab Minister for Jails Harjot Singh
Bains then ordered an inquiry against the jail superintendent. The investigation
revealed several irregularities against Gurnam Lala. He was eventually
suspended.

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The team found that the food served to the
inmates was of poor quality and inadequate. Officers in their report wrote that
every chapati cooked in the jail weighed less than 50 grams, indicating a
problem in flour quality and thief of the flour supplies. The investigation
team also said that there were irregularities in the entries for the purchase
of vegetables in the jail records.

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The jail superintendent had shown a vegetable
purchase to meet the demand of 5 days, but the inmates said the quantity was
not adequate.

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ADGP, Jails Police, Varinder Kumar said:
“The Superintendent has been suspended for discrepancies in provision of proper
diet to jail inmates. An inspection was conducted on the irregularities by a
team under the DIG. It was found that proper diet, as per established norms,
was not being given to the inmates of the Kapurthala jail. There is a
particular norm regarding weight of wheat, roti, dal, etc. which has to be
followed while feeding prison inmates. It was not being followed. Lemons were
also ordered for inmates as per records, but they did not get them.”