Days after police recovered mobile phones and SIM cards from Ghaghidih Central Jail, administration along with police officials unearthed Maoists literature and newspaper cuttings from inside Ghatshila Sub-jail in Ghatshila on Sunday.

Though the raid was conducted by the administration for unearthing cellphone or the cellphone accessories, it found Naxal literature from inside the sub-jail.

Sub-divisional officer, Ghatshila, Arvind Kumar who led the raid in the sub-jail said they recovered Naxal literature as well as paper cuttings of news related to the Naxal movement from the possession of an under trial prisoner Mahesh Mahto.

“Acting on a tip off, we were carrying out the search in the jail for finding out cellphone and SIM cards after such gadgets were recovered in large number from Ghaghidih Central Jail and also from the adjoining Seraikela divisional Jail recently. But we did not find any cellphone as such, but instead found Naxal literature and also newspaper cutting,” said Kumar.

The SDO, Ghatshila who also doubles up as Superintendent of the sub-jail said they had seized the rebel literature and newspaper cuttings which were from the Hindi, Bengali and English dailies.

With the SDO, Ghatshila, the sub-divisional police officer, Mosabani, Ajit Kumar Vimal and about a dozen prison staff participated in the raid which started from 7 am and continued till 9 am.

The recovery is crucial as the jail, built in 1980, has space to hold 170 under trials, but is home to 220 inmates at present, of whom around 30 are dreaded activists of banned outfit CPI ( Maoist). Though the jail has 12 wards, the condition of two is so poor that the jail authorities have been forced to shut them down, leaving the under trials stuffed in 10 wards.

 “Our idea is also to ensure proper security in the premises of jails. Several notorious naxals are at the jail and we are taking all possible steps to ensure that incidents of jailbreaks which took place earlier last year in Chaibasa and Seraikela may not recur here,” said an official.

A district official said that superintendents of all the jails and SP’s of concerned districts have been asked to tighten security. “ We have been asked to keep a vigil. We are concerned over the situation and have directed the jail authorities to conduct random checking of cells and prisoner wards where under trials who are facing trials in naxal related cases are lodged,” said he.