After Patna's Beur jail, it is now the turn of Bihar's Jehanabad jail, where about 328 inmates, including 67 Maoists, have gone on hunger strike on Wednesday.

The inmates are demanding action against jail officials responsible for suicide by a Maoist inmate in Patna's Beur jail and protesting against the use of force by the police against the agitating Maoist inmates of Beur jail on Tuesday.

Official sources in the Jehanabad administration confirmed that 328 inmates, including 67 Maoist inmates, 135 inmates belonging to Communist Party of India-Marxist Leninist and 126 other inmates, are on hunger strike since Wednesday morning.

The inmates are demanding action against the jail superintendent of Beur jail, who they claim was responsible for suicide of Nagina Manjhi and Rs 10 lakh as compensation for Manjhi's kin.

The inmates on hunger strike told a team of district officials that they disagree with police's theory that Manjhi committed suicide.

"It was a clear case of cold-blooded murder by jail officials," they told officials, who were sent for negotiations by the district magistrate.