Repeat security lapses in prison, but no lessons learnt
AMRITSAR : A serious lapse in the security of one of Punjab’s highly guarded prisons — the Amritsar central jail — was exposed once again on Sunday when three undertrials escaped by breaking through their cell and then scaling the outer wall of the complex.
To execute their escape from the prison on Sunday, the inmates used an iron rod to break through their cell, the police said. This raises a question mark on the working of the jail staff as how the inmates managed to sneak in a rod inside their cell.
In the recent past, the Amritsar and Tarn Taran police have busted rackets, including a narco-terror module, being run from the prison, but the jail authorities failed to act to check the problem.
Even as the jail got a Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) company for keeping vigil on its premises in November last year, a first in Punjab, the sneaking of banned items, including mobile phones, inside continues unabated. Such items were seized even on Saturday, a day before the jailbreak incident.
On January 11, the Amritsar police busted a narco-terror module with the seizure of two highly sophisticated Chinesemade drones, and the arrest of an army jawan and Balkar Singh, a jail inmate, and Dharminder Singh, who were involved in the smuggling of weapons and drugs across the
border.
Balkar, the police said, was operating from the prison. They also recovered a mobile phone from his possession. On January 14, the police brought two convicts Lakhwinder Singh and Swaran Singh from the central jail after their names cropped up during questioning in the case.
Also, in November last year, the Tarn Taran police claimed gangster Gopi Shooter was running a drug peddling racket from the jail.
The same month, cops said gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuri, who was earlier in the Amritsar jail, was running a smuggling racket from there. The revelation came after the arrest of two persons with 1kg heroin.
At least 40 mobile phones have been recovered from the jail since the CRPF was deployed. Besides, jail officials have seized charas, opium, cigarettes, tobacco, SIM cards, intoxicant powder and tablets from the inmates’ cells. At least four cases of assault by prisoners were also reported in the last two months.
NO 4G MOBILE JAMMER
The high-security jail does not have 4G mobile phone jammers.
The jail has 2G jammers which don’t work on 3G and 4G phones.
Solar fencing has been installed on the outer walls of the jail. But the inmates managed to escape from a point near a tower, which was not under CCTV surveillance, and where the electric fencing was broken.
Additional director general of police (ADGP jails) PK Sinha, said, “We will probe the jail break incident thoroughly. Manpower and use of technology will be strengthened. More CCTV cameras will be installed on the premises. The jail is houses 3,250 inmates against the capacity of 2,260 prisoners.”
The ADGP said the incident has also raised a question mark on the quality of construction in the prison. “We are writing to the public works department (PWD) to do a comprehensive review of construction,” he said.
The new multi-storied jail was constructed in 2016 at a cost of ₹131 crore on the FatahpurJhabhal road.