Inmates at the district jail in Shahdol took hostage three guards and injured another, official sources said.

Prison guard Dinesh Singh was beaten up by some inmates when he was calling those meant for cooking dinner in the jail, Sub-divisional Magistrate J P Dhurve said adding, he was admitted to hospital with injuries.

Anticipating retaliation by prison staff, the inmates took hostage three other guards and held siege of the jail complex, threatening to trigger an explosion by setting afire several cooking gas cylinders they had gathered near the door, he said.

Police force was summoned from different places in the district and deployed around the jail, housing around 300 inmates, while fire tenders were also kept ready to meet any eventuality and control the situation, he said.

Eyewitnesses claimed stone throwing took place from inside the prison premises, but officials declined to confirm it.

Senior officials including District Collector Jagdish Sharma, Additional Collector Anurag Sharma and Superintendent of Police L C Bharatiya, reached the site and efforts were on to sort out the matter through negotiations.

Unconfirmed reports said the jail inmates were also demanding improvement in the quality of food being served to them and proper medical facilities.