Ruckus erupted in the Bagalkot Central Prison on Thursday as under-trial prisoners decided to go on a hunger strike.

As many as 173 undertrials skipped lunch and demanded that action be taken against prison staff who assaulted two prisoners.

Jail Superintendent, SD Shodhagar, said that the prisoners were unhappy with the quality of the food.

“On Wednesday night, while the kitchen was being inspected, two of the prison staff found mobile phones on two prisoners. When they questioned them about it, the argument got out of hand, which led to a physical fight. The two inmates and two prison staff were admitted to the Bagalkot District Hosital, where they are undergoing treatment,” Shodhagar said.

The prison staff sustained minor injuries and were discharged after being treated. While the prison authorities claimed that the scuffle broke out due to the mobile phone, the prisoners who staged the protest, alleged that the two inmates, Ranga Pawar (24) and Vighnesh Bhosle (25), both from Maharashtra, had questioned the prison staff about the quality of the food served.

“They started shouting slogans about bad food quality in the morning and are now claiming that the fight broke after the prison staff assaulted them. They are staging a protest to make the prison authorities look bad,” he added.

The protest went on till Thursday evening forcing Sessions Judge B Sharada visited the prison and held talks with the inmates.

“She assured the inmates that the incident would be probed thoroughly and that there would be an inspection on the food quality in the prison. It was only then that they decided to call off the protest,” Shodhagar added.