Six cellphones, SIM cards recovered from Central Jail

Gagandeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Bathinda, April 26

Officials recovered six mobile phones and the same number of SIM cards from inmates during a checking of barracks at the Central Jail in Gobindpura village, 18 km from here, on Thursday.

A case under Section 188 of the IPC and Section 52-A of the Prison Act, 1894, has been registered against six inmates on the complaint of the Assistant Jail Superintendent of the Central Jail.

The police will bring the accused to the Nathan police station on a production warrant for investigation.

Manjeet Singh Sidhu, Deputy Superintendant of Central Jail, confirmed the development and said during the checking, mobile phones were recovered from six inmates in barracks.

According to sources, new Jail Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has given orders to jail officials to keep a check on the use of mobile phones inside the jail premises. Thereafter, jail officials conducted raids in all barracks of undertrials and convicted inmates.

The police have also started a probe to ascertain how these phones reached the jail. DSP Sidhu said these could have been thrown from outside over the wall. Even the role of jail employees is also under scanner.

The accused have been identified as Jagtar Singh, Malkeet Singh, Ranveer Singh, all residents of Amritsar; Charanjit Singh, a resident of Garrniwal village; Amandeep Singh, a resident of Dhotian village; and Satnam Singh.

Last time, the jail police recovered mobile phones from an inmate and his wife as both were using mobiles in separates barracks.

Lashman Singh, investigating officer from the the Nathana police station, said the police have sought remand of the accused from the court.

In the past two years, more than 75 mobile phones with SIM cards have been recovered from different barracks of the jail and cases have been registered at the Nathana police station.

In most of the cases, the police have booked prisoners by name and in six cases, unidentified persons have been booked.