Four packets thrown in Ferozepur jail, seized mobile, banned items
699 mobiles seized from jail during 2023 besides prohibited items
More stringent measures required to plug entry points
Ferozepur, December 25, 2023: The recovery of mobiles and other banned items continued to recover from Ferozepur Jail, without any break, despite three layers of security arrangements and during the current year, around 700 mobiles and various banned items had been recovered.
During a search operation carried out on Dec. 24, one mobile touch screen without a SIM card was recovered as unclaimed and on Dec. 23, four packets were thrown from outside over the high walls and on opening 40 sachets ‘zarda’, 2 packet cool lip and one packet ‘bidi’ was recovered.
A case against the unknown person has been registered on the complaint of Nirmaljit Singh and Sarbjit Singh, Assistant Superintendents under Sections 52-A/42 of the Prisons Act, with the appointment of IO Gurmail Singh and further investigations are on.
The recovery of mobiles and other prohibited items continued unabated to reach inside the jail despite stringent security measures and the total recovery was reported to have gone to 698 during the current year besides various prohibited items like data cables, chargers, pen drives, bidis, cigarettes, and intoxicant materials. There had also been incidents of packets thrown from outside over the high walls.
The jail has three layers of security and around 200 officials remain on duty throughout the day. The jail also had eight vigilant towers and around 80 CCTV cameras installed. However, the number of mobile phone seizures and other banned items has increased. There has been hardly any clue reported as to how these items find their way to the jail inmates. Even the video of jail inmate Aman Kumar had also gone viral on June 26 celebrating a birthday party in jail, on social media. There had been other such incidents. Also, the STF staff arrested a jail hospital staff for allegedly supplying drugs and other banned substances to jail inmates.
Recently, the incident of 43,000 calls made to three smugglers lodged inside the jail from mobile and transferring of Rs.1.35 cr online to accounts of their wives, has surfaced and seven officials are to face inquiry – including two serving, three retired jail Superintendents.
Under such circumstances, the purpose of keeping the prisoners behind the bar is lost. There is a need to make more stringent arrangements with the huge recovery of banned items, especially the mobiles which keep the prisoners in touch with the outer world for illegal purposes, as is evident from the recent incidents.
