Net covers in Delhi prisons to curb contraband

Officials said the move aims at preventing mobile phones and objects used as weapons from reaching the inmates

In an effort to curtail phones, narcotics, and weapons being thrown into the jail premises, prison authorities in Delhi started installing net covers in the open spaces of the three prison complexes in the city, a senior Delhi Prisons official said on Friday.

While the plan to install the net covers was in offing for long, the recent murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuria in Tihar jail led to hastening the process, said an official. (PTI)

While the plan to install the net covers was in offing for long, the recent murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuria led to hastening the process, said the official.

“We are apprehensive of revenge attacks in the jail following Tajpuria’s murder. We are expecting the net covers to keep mobile phones and objects used as weapons from reaching the inmates,” said the official.

On Friday, jail officials shared visuals of the net cover in Tihar jail, as well as those of a recently constituted quick response team (QRT) – meant to tackle gang attacks and riot-like situations in a high-risk jail of Tihar – undergoing a drill.

Since public roads run adjacent to all three prison complexes in Delhi – Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini – instances of banned objects being hurled from outside are quite common. According to jail authorities, between December last year and January this year, a total of 348 mobile phones were recovered from inmates from the three prisons, many of which were thrown from outside.

Families and associates of the inmates wrap narcotics in small packets and throw them over the boundary walls, or stuff drugs, small phones, and blades in tennis balls and throw them to be collected by the inmates later, authorities said.

“The nets we are installing will not allow these objects to land on the ground. They are strung from the prison buildings and will cover all areas which are a stone’s throw from the outside,” said the official.

The net cover is made of polypropylene, a material that will withstand harsh weather conditions and the gaps are small enough to restrict small birds from passing through as well, the official quoted above said. “There were concerns about acid being hurled by outsiders to create holes in the mesh, but the material used will not be melted by acid,” he added.

The official said that the net cover installation work has been completed at Mandoli jail, is nearly complete at Rohini jail, and is happening at a quick pace at Tihar jail. “In a few days, the net will be fully installed at all vulnerable spots in Tihar as well,” he added.

Tajpuria was stabbed to death with improvised knives carved out of spoons and exhaust fan blades early this month by four inmates of a rival gang. CCTV footage of the attack showed the suspects stabbing him over 100 times even as security personnel watched. A QRT constituted after that has been deployed in the high-risk prison number 8 where the murder took place.