Rising threat to security as phones, drugs continue to enter jail

Rapid urbanisation, coupled with the growing number of residential and commercial units around the periphery of the Central Jail, continues to pose a security threat as miscreants can easily toss packets containing mobile phones and drugs inside the premises. In many cases, it has been found that accomplices and relatives of the inmates are responsible for throwing these contraband items from nearby roads and buildings.

The state’s decision to sell off vacant land around the jail as part of the “Optimum Utilisation of Vacant Government Land” (OUVGL) scheme has further contributed to the issue. Subsequently, the Punjab Urban Planning and Development Authority (PUDA) auctioned the surrounding land for commercial purposes, inadvertently compromising the security of the jail.

However, there is a silver lining, as enhanced security measures have resulted in a notable reduction in the recovery of mobile phones this year. While 683 phones were seized last year, only 467 have been recovered this year so far. This decline follows a trend of mobile phone seizures - 437 were recovered in 2022, 270 in 2021, 130 in 2020, and 70 in 2019.

In 2023, an investigation prompted by the Punjab and Haryana High Court led to the arrest of nine jail officials after more than 43,000 calls were made using two mobile phones from within the jail.

Despite the stringent security measures, mobile phones and other contraband continue to make their way into the jail. This ongoing issue suggests that there may be involvement from insiders. Jail officials have been implicated in delivering mobile phones and intoxicating materials to inmates. Notably, in February last year, the Punjab Police’s Counter Intelligence Wing arrested a jail warden for allegedly supplying drugs to inmates, including notorious gangsters. In November 2022, a Deputy Superintendent was arrested for providing mobiles and drugs to criminals in exchange for money, while a jail doctor was arrested by the Special Task Force (STF) in August 2022 for

similar charges.

In February 2014, then-Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal announced plans to relocate the Central Jail to the outskirts of the city, with an estimated cost of Rs 150 crores. However, due to the change of regime and lack of adequate funds, the project has remained stalled. A 44-acre plot near Village Khai Pheme Ke on the Ferozepur-Fazilka road had been identified for the new jail, and the government had approved a proposal for its construction, but no further progress has been made.