Tobacco found in cooler at jail

Tribune News Service

Amritsar, April 20

The Central Jail authorities have confiscated a huge quantity of cigarettes bundles and tobacco kept inside a water cooler donated by a jail inmate, who was recently released from the jail.

He has been identified as Mahinder Singh of Ludhar village in Majitha. The police have also booked another inmate, Mandeep Singh, alias Mani, of Rajasansi in the case.

Jail Superintendent Arshdeep Singh said the water cooler was being installed near a religious place inside the jail premises in view of the summer season when the officials came across the tobacco. He said the cooler was donated by several jail inmates who were released in the recent past.

The jail staff found 89 big packets, containing as many as 1,780 bundles of cigarettes, 2 big packets containing 24 packets of tobacco and two another packets of cigarettes from it. He said a complaint was lodged with the local police. Mandeep is in jail, raids are being conducted to nab Mahinder Singh, he added. He was earlier arrested by the police in an NDPS case.

In another seizure, the jail staff seized 10 bundles of cigarette and eight packets of tobacco from a jail inmate Anil Joshi of Rayya who returned to jail after completing his parole.

Similarly, it also recovered two mobile phones from two prisoners, identified as Malkit Singh of Kot Jaffar village and Abhishek Chetal of Jalandhar.

Separate cases have been registered against them with Gate Hakima police.