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Punjab: Eight mobile phones seized from Ferozepur jail in 5 days
Searches have been intensified after Punjab Police probe into singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing pointed to a nexus of gangsters running their operations from jails
At least eight mobile phones have been recovered from inmates, including gangsters, at the Ferozepur Central Jail within five days.
Searches have been intensified after police probe into singer-politician Sidhu Moose Wala’s killing pointed to a nexus of gangsters running their operations from behind the bars. On Tuesday, the jail officials had recovered three mobile phones from a high-security barrack, where a suspect in Moose Wala’s killing was lodged before the SIT took him on production warrants.
Punjab jail minister Harjot Bains on Saturday had promised to free all prisons in the state of mobile phones within six months. Bains, who was visiting Faridkot and Bathinda jails, had also given directions to prison officials to conduct daily checking of jailed gangsters and classified prisoners.
The latest seizure was made during checking carried out on Saturday. Gurtej Singh, assistant superintendent of jail, Ferozepur, in a complaint to the local police said that while searching barrack number 11, a mobile phone without SIM card was recovered. Following this, a case was registered against an unknown person under the Prisons Act.
Earlier, two mobile phones with SIM cards were recovered on Friday, and two were seized from two jailed gangsters on Wednesday. In all these cases, investigation is on to trace the source.
In 2021, 300 mobile phones were recovered from the Ferozepur jail inmates, while 130 cell phones have been seized this year so far. The main reason behind the easy access of mobile phones to inmates is the jail’s location. The prison is surrounded by a thickly populated area. There have been several instances of packets with prohibited articles, including mobiles and intoxicant items, being thrown into the premises from outside, say sources.
“We are trying to curb the supply of mobile phones, but there are some evident loopholes geographically. High-tension wires and CCTV cameras were installed along the boundary wall of the jail, but yet anti-social elements at times succeed to sneak mobiles into the jail by throwing them across the walls,” said jail superintendent Parminder Singh, adding that search drives have been intensified and all cases are being reported to police to trace the source.
Ferozepur senior superintendent of police Charanjit Singh Sohal said some corrective measures have been suggested to the jail superintendent and police deployment has been enhanced around the jail.
