Ludhiana, January 5: Police have launched an investigation after a video surfaced online showing inmates celebrating a birthday party inside the Ludhiana Central Jail, officials said on Friday. The clip shared on social media on Thursday showed a group of inmates raising glasses and eating 'pakodas', while singing "Mani Veere Da Aj Budday Hain (Today is Mani brother's birthday)", they said. The men were celebrating the birthday of inmate Arun Kumar alias Mani Rana.

Prison authorities said they have confiscated from Rana's possession the mobile phone used to record and upload the video. The phone was, however, found in a broken condition and its data could not be accessed, they added. Punjab: Ludhiana Central Jail Inmates Celebrate Gangster Mani Rana's Birthday in Prison as Karan Aujla Song Plays in Background (Watch Video).

Inmates Celebrate Gangster Mani Rana's Birthday in Jail

An FIR has been registered against Rana, the officials said, adding that 10 more inmates have also been identified and a complaint has been sent to the local police station.  Taking serious note of the incident, Inspector General, Prisons, R K Arora told PTI that DIG, Patiala Range, Surinder Singh Saini will conduct a full-fledged investigation into the incident. Undertrial Inmate Goes Live From Ferozepur Jail Video: Murder Suspect Joins Friend's Birthday Bash on Instagram Live From Central Jail in Punjab, Viral Clip Surfaces.

This is not the first time that Punjab prisons are in the news for wrongful reasons. Last year, Governor Banwarilal Purohit said there was a need to improve prison security as criminals were running rackets sitting inside jails.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)