Stumbling blocks for jail administration in Punjab

Missiles carrying prisoner supplies — including drug packets and mobile phones — flying over the Faridkot jail walls last week, were just one small example of a gamut of snags faced by jail authorities in Punjab.

Over the years, there have been several instances of gangsters operating drug and gang syndicates using mobile phones, visitors devising innovative smuggling methods, and even jail staff facilitating the entry of drugs and other illegal items into prisons.

A top official of the prison administration in the state said, “The biggest headache at the moment is the ‘Kachoda’ phones. These two-to-three-inch gadgets are very difficult to detect as they are mostly hidden in the private parts of carriers when smuggled into jails. The sophisticated hardware allows the use of two or even more SIM cards in a single phone.”

Highlighting the gravity of the situation, the inflow of drugs continues unabated — sometimes over the jail walls, and at other times with the help of construction workers and maintenance staff from outside. The latest threat is the easy entry of contraband using drones.

Punjab has a total of 25 jails, 13 of which are high-security facilities specifically designated for prisoners involved in terrorist activities and organised crime.

According to the first-ever screening of state jails conducted under the current government in 2022, it was recorded that at least 47 per cent of inmates were addicted to drugs. At least 14,000 out of approximately 30,000 inmates were found to be addicted. It was also found that a number of them became addicts after entering jail. The most commonly used substances included morphine, tramadol and buprenorphine.

The officer acknowledged that jails had been largely ignored by the state government for more than three decades. One of the biggest problems is that jails are operating with a 40 per cent staff shortage. To make matters worse, they are currently housing approximately 36,000 inmates against a capacity of about 26,000. The recent sharp increase in inmate numbers is largely due to arrests made under the state government's ongoing 'Yudh Nashian Virudh' campaign.

The condition of the existing infrastructure and the shortage of space indicate that the government has failed to provide adequate funding and administrative attention to jails in the state. Most of these facilities are located within the residential areas of different towns such as Faridkot, Sangrur, and Patiala, among others. These are the locations from where indiscriminately thrown packets often come flying over the prison walls.

Abnormal activity

On June 9, an ASI and a Head Constable were arrested in connection with smuggling of drugs and other prohibited items inside Ropar District jail.

On May 15, DSP (Security), Sangrur jail, was arrested for his active involvement in drug smuggling.

In July 2024, the Special Task Force shifted 200 inmates lodged in different jails to Bathinda Central Jail, which has jammers to cut off all signals allowing mobile phone operations.

The Punjab and Haryana High Court in December 2023 took cognizance of more than 43,000 calls made from two mobile phones from Ferozepur Central Jail attempting to help officials who provided shelter to drug smugglers lodged in the prison.

In January 2023, a report by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative stated that drug smuggling was recorded in 10 jails in Punjab, and it also highlighted severe gender disparities.

Serious questions were raised on the comfortable stay of gangster-turned-politician Mukhtar Ansari in Ropar Jail from January 2019 till April 6, 2021 — after which he was handed over to Uttar Pradesh Police following Supreme Court directions.

In October 2024, Punjab Police suspended seven personnel, including two DSPs, in connection with the interview of gangster Lawrence Bishnoi while he was in police custody.

Jail revamp activity

The government has sanctioned more than Rs 525 crore for development activity in jails.

Jails are working out special programmes on drug de-addiction and prisoner rehabilitation.

Abandoning the old format of correctional exercises, the department is now employing innovations with its motto of ‘Custody, Care and Correction’.

By the end of this year, all jails will be equipped with jammers to block communication between inmates and the outside world, except for official departmental lines. This has already been implemented at the jails in Bathinda, Amritsar and Kapurthala.

The government is constructing new jails and also increasing the capacity of existing ones. A 1,000-inmate capacity complex is coming up in Mohali, and another is being built in Sidhwan Bet (Ludhiana). Land has been earmarked for high-security jails outside town areas, including the one at Sidhwan Bet. Expansion work is also underway at Nabha jail.

The government is working out the details of the project for managing on camera proceeding of prisoner cases from jails.

A batch of 32 sniffer dogs is also being introduced in the first phase.