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17 mobile phones, 11 SIM cards recovered in Goindwal jail; 4 inmates booked
A case under various sections of the Prisons Act has also been registered against four inmates after five of the mobile phones were recovered from their possession; the other 12 phones were declared unclaimed by the jail authorities
Authorities of Goindwal Central Jail recovered 17 mobile phones, 11 SIM cards, six earphones and chargers and three data cables during search operations on Sunday.
On the complaint of jail authorities, a case under various sections of the Prisons Act has also been registered against four inmates after five of the mobile phones were recovered from their possession. The other 12 phones were declared unclaimed by the jail authorities.
The inmates have been identified as Gurjant Singh, Nishan Singh and Raja of Patti city, and Ranjit Singh of Balehar village of Bhikhiwind sub-division in Tarn Taran district.
Gurjant, Nishan and Raja were booked and arrested under the NDPS Act. Similarly, Ranjit has been facing a case under Section 376-D (rape) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) registered at Bhikhiwind police station in 2019.
In a complaint to Tarn Taran police, assistant superintendent of police Harish Kumar said during the search of Gurjant and Ranjit, a smart phone, two keypad phones and a SIM card was recovered.
“During the search of Nishan and Raja, two keypad phones, a data cable, two earphones and one charger were recovered,” he said.
He further said, “When a search was conducted in ward number 2’s barrack number 02/04, three smart phones, nine keypad phones, 10 SIM cards, four earphones, five chargers and two data cables were recovered. The recovered mobiles and other items were unclaimed.”
Sub-inspector (SI) Prem Singh of Goindwal jail said they have registered a case against the accused and a probe has been initiated. The nominated accused will be brought on production warrant for questioning, he added.
The recovery of mobile phones, cigarettes and sharp iron strips are a regular affair in the high-security jail. In February, two gangsters who were arrested in Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing case were killed by their rival gang members using iron strips in the prison.
Punjab Police have busted several modules of smuggling of drugs and arms many times, the members of which were found to be operating their rackets from inside the jail.
