Jamshedpur: A dawn to dusk hunger strike was observed by 16 Maoist undertrials at Ghaghidih jail here on Monday demanding scrapping of section 17 of Criminal Law Amendment (CLA) Act.
The jail superintendent Tushar Ranjan Gupta said that the CPI(Maoist) undertrials had launched the fast alleging that they were falsely implicated under the act.
The protestors had assured that they would break the fast in the evening, he said.
The fast is being led by CPI(Maoist) leader Rajesh Singh alias Udai, who was transferred here from Naxal-affected Latehar district few months ago.
The undertrials had written a letter to Chief Justice of Jharkhand High Court about a fortnight ago demanding scrapping of the Act, which, they claimed would only delay the process for disposal of cases against them.
Security arrangement was tightened in and around the prison, which is situated in the outskirts of the steel city, to maintain law and order during the fast, he added.
PTI
First Published: Monday, May 28, 2012, 15:37