Recovery of mobiles, cigarettes exposes chinks in jail security

Mobiles and other items are being thrown on the jail premises from outside. However, appropriate measures are being taken to stop this practice. We are working hard to plug the loopholes. ARSHDEEP SINGH GILL , Amritsar jail superintendent

AMRITSAR : The recovery of two mobile phones and a huge consignment of cigarettes and tobacco from the central jail here on Thursday has put a question mark on the working of the authorities and security in the jail. However, the jail authorities are claiming that they keeping a strict watch on such activities in the jail. On Thursday, the Hakima Gate police of the district booked five people, including four inmates of the jail, following three different complaints of the jail authorities after the recovery of 1,790 bundles of cigarettes, 32 packets of tobacco, and two mobile phones during a search operation.

In the first complaint, assistant superintendent (AS) Joginder Singh told the police that they recovered 1,780 bundles of cigarettes and 24 packets of tobacco during a surprise checking of jail inmates. On his complaint, the police registered a case under Section 42 of the Prisoners Act against Mandeep Singh aka Mani of Rajasansi, who is already in jail, and Mahinder Singh aka Midhi of Luthar village, who is absconding.

In the second complaint by Joginder Singh, the police booked Atul Joshi of ward number 2 after the recovery of 10 bundles of cigarettes and 8 packets of tobacco from his possession in the jail.

The third complaint was lodged by deputy superintendent of the jail, Balwinder Singh, in which he said, during a surprise checking, he seized a Samsung Gold mobile phone with a SIM card of Vodafone from Malkit Singh of Sultanwind and a mobile phone, MI Golden, with a Vodafone SIM card from Abhishek Chetal of Jalandhar.

Both the accused have been booked under sections 42 and 52 A of the Prisoners Act.

The recovery indicates that the use of cellular phones inside the jail goes on unabated.

Last month, a gangster, Jagroshan Singh, lodged in the jail, used a mobile phone to call his aides for making an assault on the family members of one of his rivals, Sunny Kumar, who is also in the same jail. The police had then said, on the orders of Jagroshan, around 10 people had opened firing on Sunny’s family members, who had a narrow escape.jagroshan had reportedly managed to obtain a video of firing on his mobile phone in the jail to show it to Sunny.