There have been various security lapses in recent years in the jails at Roorkee, Dehradun and other places in Uttarakhand with inmates being found using mobile phones to plan and direct crimes committed outside the jails. The shootout incident outside the Roorkee jail and gangster Amit Malik alias Bhura’s escape from the police custody in Baghpat further exposed these lapses. To prevent repetition of such incidents, the prison authorities are now planning to set up mobile phone jammers in the jails.
Pauri jail has recently installed two jammers to prevent the use of mobile phones by the inmates. One more jammer will be installed after the State Government released fund for the same. One CCTV camera each has been installed at the two entry gates. Following the approval of funds from the State Government, 14 more CCTV cameras will be installed though the proposal was presently pending with the Government, said a jail official.
State IG (Jail) PVK Prasad said that in order to strengthen the security in jails, a proposal had been sent to the State Government for installing CCTV cameras and jammers in all jails of the State.
He further said several steps had been taken to strength security in jails. The jail officers have been directed to frisk all persons including jail officials when they enter the jail building. They have also been told to ensure that physical distance was maintained between hard-core criminals and visitors when they were allowed to meet in the jail.
Police should also remain extra vigilant during such meetings, he said. Prasad recently inspected jails of various districts and reviewed the security arrangement there. He said that entry of mobile phones in the jail campus has been strictly banned. The jail officers have been strictly directed to ensure fool-proof security in the jail campus. Visitors reaching the jail to meet inmates are to be frisked properly. The jail officials’ found indulging in or conniving to facilitate illegal activities in the jail campus will be dealt with stringently, he warned.
Prasad further said that important places in the jail premise would be monitored through CCTV cameras. CCTV cameras and jammers will be monitored by responsible person from the jail department. “Proposals for strengthening infrastructure and making appointments to vacant posts in the jails have been sent to the State Government. Meanwhile, the jail officers have been directed to take corrective measures to prevent any untoward incidents from recurring,” he added.