Staff crunch, no intel unit hit jail security

Jupinderjit Singh

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 25

The Gurdaspur prison arson and security breach just four months after the sensational Nabha jailbreak case has raised questions about security of such establishments in the state.

Prison officials have blamed the police for the shortcomings and denying them their own intelligence unit. Serious staff crunch and reforms too are another sore point with the former.

The Jail Department had moved a proposal about two months ago on its own intelligence unit but it was shot down. “The intelligence wing of the police monitors the phone calls and analyses the confiscated phone sets. Also, they tell us which criminal is a gangster. The department asked for permission for its own unit as relevant information to help pre-empt such incidents either doesn’t reach us or is delayed,” an official said.

Sources last week requested ADGP Rohit Chaudhary for the unit and additional security in a letter to the DGP. “We are functioning with half of the sanctioned strength. The paramilitary battalions posted after Nabha Jail break have been withdrawn post elections. Nearly 600 vacancies have not been filled. We need more men. We wanted to set up a security zone in Gurdaspur jail on the lines of other jails but due to inadequate security, it was not possible,” rued a Jail official.

A senior official of the Punjab Police, wishing not to be quoted, said the proposal of the separate Intelligence unit for the Prison department was not possible as too many units would have caused chaos, “It has to be centralised,”he said.

Chaudhary said he has called for a review meeting for optimum utilisation of staff. He declined to comment on other issues plaguing the department.

The then Akali-BJP government had started recruitment of jail staff twice but it was cancelled on both occasions due to allegations of favouritism.