Video of prisoners brandishing pistols inside UP jail goes viral; pistols turn out to be made of clay

A video of two prisoners in jail holding pistols and commenting on the Uttar Pradesh government has gone viral on social media.

In the video, the two prisoners reveal their names and identity without fear, and one of them is seen brandishing a pistol. They are seen referring to the jail as their “office” and claiming that the “Yogi sarkaar” (Yogi government) couldn’t touch them when they were in Meerut, and won’t be able to do so in Unnao either.

The two prisoners, Gaurav Pratap Singh and Amrish Bhatipura are in jail because they were charged with criminal cases. Amrish has been given a life sentence for murder, and Gaurav for numerous cases of loot and murder. Amrish was transferred to Unnao from Meerut, and Gaurav from Lucknow.

There is also an instance in the video where Amrish places a small packet (supposedly drugs) in his pocket, saying he has it all the time. This has brought about speculations that there are drugs available in the jail.

It was revealed later by the Uttar Pradesh Home Department that the pistols had been made of clay and that the prisoners had executed this because they wanted to “put pressure” on the jail administration.

The Home Department stated that Gaurav is a good artist and that was how he had been able to make a convincing replica of a pistol. Officials also said that the video is from February.