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60 mobiles seized from Goindwal jail inmates in November
On Saturday, a mobile was recovered for the fourth time in nine months from gangster Arshad Khan nominated in Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing case
There has been no let-up in the recovery of mobile phones from the high-security Goindwal Sahib Central Jail, which houses around 1,800 inmates, including dreaded gangsters and drug smugglers.
This November, the jail authorities have recovered around 60 mobiles, including unclaimed. Similarly, around 450 mobile phones have been recovered this year from the jail.
On Saturday, a mobile phone was recovered from the possession of gangster Arshad Khan, who is one of the prime accused in the brutal killing of Sidhu Moose Wala. This is the fourth time that a mobile has been seized from Arshad Khan in the period of the last nine months in the prison which was inaugurated in 2021.
Arshad, who is a close aide of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, is lodged in the high-security cell of the jail along with five other accused involved in the murder of the Punjabi singer.
On February 28, Khan and six other co-accused in the Moose Wala murder were booked for the double murder of gangster Mandeep Singh alias Toofan of Batala and gangster Manmohan Singh alias Mohna of Budhlada—both associates with gangster Jaggu Bhagwanpuria—in a gang war inside the jail. The gang war was also recorded on mobile phones by the accused. Soon after the gang war, mobiles were recovered from the accused. Similarly, in March and September, mobiles were recovered from Arshad by the jail authorities.
A senior official of the jail, who did not wish to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said, “This month, we have recovered around 60 mobiles. Similarly, the count of the recovered mobiles from the jail since January this year is around 450. Most of the mobiles being recovered were thrown inside the prison by unidentified persons.”
“We have around 1,800 inmates, including 30 notorious gangsters. These gangsters have been kept in high-security cell. Despite being in a high-security cell, some gangsters manage to get mobiles thrown from the outside. Most of the inmates in our jail are facing charges under the NDPS Act,” the above-quoted official said.
Sources said due to the non-availability of jammers in the jail, the use of mobile phones, including smartphones, was rampant. The jail has remained in controversy as its inmates were found to be involved in serious criminal cases, including the rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) attack at Sarhali police station and targeted killings.
The jail’s superintendent, Gurcharan Singh Dhariwal, said, “A survey has been conducted and we are hopeful that jammers will be installed in the jail to curb the use of mobile phones soon. Our personnel have been working round to clock to recover mobile phones being thrown from outside.”
“Due to the jail’s presence in the open area, people tend to throw banned items inside the jail. We are working with the government to tackle the threat,” he said.
