A year after promise, Taloja jail waits for hi-tech phone jammers

LAX SECURITY The jail has 21 ordinary jammers installed on its premises, which is not enough

NAVI MUMBAI: It has been 10 months since state home minister Ranjeet Patil announced that advanced mobile network j ammers will be i nstalled at Taloja central jail to stop i nmates f rom establishing contacts with the other world with mobile phone.

Advanced jammers cover a wider area than the normal ones and people cannot use cell phones even in the peripheral areas.

However, the jail authorities have not received even one of them till date.

Patil visited the jail in May last year to take stock of the security systems.

He had assured the authorities that all necessary equipment will be provided so that no inmate can do any unlawful activities inside the jail.

As of now, the jail has 21 jammers installed at different spots.

The officials said that they need at least 20 more jammers to cover the entire area.

Several inmates were caught red- handed while talking on mobile phones inside the jail earlier and legal actions were taken against them. However, how they got the mobile phones is still not known.

“A few months ago, we conducted a survey to know the number of additional j ammers required in the jail and the list was sent to the state government. But we have not received any response so far,” said a jail officer on condition of anonymity.

“The government provided us 74 closed- circuit television ( CCTV) cameras last year and almost all of them have been installed at different places. The cameras are being monitored from a control room on the jail premises,” he added.

Several aides of gangsters such as Chhota Rajan, Ravi Pujari and Bharat Nepali gang have been kept in Taloja jail.

“We can accommodate 2,124 inmates. As of now, we have around 1,600 inmates. Around 60% of them are from places such as Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan,” said another officer.

“Security i nside the j ail was beefed up after the attack on gangster Abu Salem by an inmate,” the officer said.

“A metal detector and baggage scanner were installed at the main entrance. We have also written to the PWD to construct a restroom where the relatives of inmates can take shelter when they come to meet them,” he added.