Prayagraj: The Allahabad high court has stayed the arrest of suspended Banda district jail superintendent Anil Kumar Gautam in connection with an FIR alleging the illegal release of a Noida-based scrap mafia from jail despite a custody warrant against him.A Division Bench of Justice Rajeev Mishra and Justice Satya Veer Singh issued the order on April 1 while hearing a petition from the official seeking quashing of the FIR and protection from arrest.However, the court has allowed police to continue investigations but restrained it from filing reports before the jurisdictional magistrate until further orders.The court has issued notices to all respondents, including state govt, granting six weeks to file counter-affidavits and fixed May 27 as the next date of hearing.The controversy erupted after Noida scrap mafia Ravindra Singh, alias Ravi Kana, held in Banda Jail since Aug 2024 in another case, was produced before the Chief Judicial Magistrate, Gautam Budh Nagar on a B-warrant.However, police allege that just hours after the virtual court appearance, the jail administration illegally released Kana from custody without any written court order and without informing the court. The release drew strong objections from the court, following which immediate action was initiated.An FIR was lodged against three jail officials on Feb 2, 2026, by jail chowki in-charge Anurag Pandey invoking BNS section 260(C).
