NEW DELHI: Tension gripped the Lampur detention centre in Narela on March 16 when a group of foreign nationals allegedly took 10-12 staff members hostage during a routine medical visit, sparking stone-pelting clashes that injured four officials, including a doctor, prison warders, an Intelligence Bureau assistant, and an FRRO officer.
The drama unfolded around 11:30 AM as a doctor and two prison officials entered a block for OPD checks, only to be locked inside by agitated detainees who barred their exit. When the in-charge and additional staff rushed to intervene, they too were trapped, escalating into a full-blown hostage crisis that demanded urgent police action.
After prolonged negotiations, authorities rescued the hostages, but the situation turned violent as detainees hurled stones and brick fragments at staff and responding officers, with injuries reported to hands and head among the victims. An FIR now probes the breach, highlighting chronic overcrowding and unrest at the facility housing deportees amid Delhi’s crackdown on illegal immigrants.
This incident reignites scrutiny over Lampur’s “pathetic” conditions—previously flagged by courts for poor hygiene and facilities—where African and Afghan nationals await deportation, underscoring the volatile human cost of immigration enforcement in the capital.
