Body scanners, iron mesh to be installed at Amritsar Central Jail
The authorities at the Amritsar Central Jail will soon install body scanners, besides iron mesh and golf net on the boundary wall of the prison to tackle the menace of “Fenka” (throwing mobile phones and other prohibited material inside the high-security jail).
The jail authorities have seized 600 cellphones since January. Last year, the number was pegged at 450.
Officials said the menace had multiplied manifold as the prison was adjoining densely populated areas. After getting released from the jail, miscreants prefer to reside at Anngarh and Fatahpur localities.
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior jail official said miscreants throw cellphones, cigarettes and mobile charging cables from vulnerable spots in the midnight. “Inmates also hide keypad phones in their body’s cavities, he added. “The tenders to install body scanners, iron mesh and golf net have already been floated,” said an official.
A Delhi-based team had surveyed the jail complex, he added. Besides, Amritsar Central Jail, body scanners have also been proposed at Kapurthala and Bathinda jail.
In 2016, the prison was shifted to current location from old jail complex on Ajnala Road due to inadequate housing capacity of prisoners. The jail authorities have requested the Police Commissioner to depute patrolling parties in the night in order to restrict the movement of unscrupulous elements. The Prisons Department has also proposed to install AI-based CCTV cameras to strengthen security measures.
Arun Pal Singh, Additional Director General of Police, Prisons Department, said apart from taking these measures, the jammers would also be upgraded in the Central jails to curb use of cellphones.
Earlier, the government had installed Harmonious Call Blocking System at three jails in the state. Due to close proximity of the Amritsar jail with residential areas, the system failed to give desired results. The ADGP said the department had also constituted a research and analysis wing in jails, which studies the recent trends adopted by miscreants.
