Ghaghidih jail gets 22 more CCTV cameras

Security system at Ghaghidih Central Jail is all set to go hi-tech as the jail administration on Tuesday received 22 additional Closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras.In order to increase strict vigil and increase the security arrangements, the 22 CCTV cameras will add to the 16 such cameras already installed in the central jail premises.

Satyendra Chowdhury, jailer, Ghaghidih Central Jail said that the new CCTV cameras have been provided by the home department through Jharkhand Agency for Promotion of Information Technology (JAPIT), the agency which deals with the CCTV cameras on behalf of the home department.The jailer went on to inform that the installation will start from next week by the technicians of the JAPIT. He added that the surveillance cameras will be installed at the strategic locations, including at the jail-gates to keep a vigil on fire-arms and narcotic substance smuggled into the jail.

Chowdhury said that eight of the 22 CCTV cameras are dome cameras, and the rest 14 are pan-tilt zoom (PTZ) cameras.The jailer said that the Ghaghidih Central Jail authority had demanded 35 cameras to the home department after conducting survey.  He said they had also paid the JAPIT `34 lakh which they had received from the home department for installation of the surveillance cameras. “However, the JAPIT sent its own team to the central jail and conducted another survey and finally decided to install 22 CCTV cameras,” said the senior prison official.

Spread over 20 acres of land, the Ghaghidih Central Jail has a prisoners’ capacity of 1,447.  Presently, the central jail has 16 CCTV cameras out of which only four are operational where as the rest 12 have gone out of order due to poor maintenance.“ The new cameras will help us to keep strict vigil. The CCTV cameras that have been supplied to the central jail are far more effective. These camera can cover the images from 200 metres away, but the effective range is 100 metres,” said a senior official. 

Notably, the 16 cameras had been installed after incident of violent clash between two warring factions among the inmates in March 2009, resulting in the death of two undertrial prisoners.  When one of the undertrials, Paramjeet Singh was gunned down inside the prison, other one, Santosh Singh was lynched by the supporters of Paramjeet Singh immediately.

“There is a total of 11 trained jail guards, including three female ones. In addition, there are 65 hired security guards, including ex-servicemen and Home Guard personnel. As per the sanctioned strength, there must be 212 guards, that too trained ones, but we have to manage with just 76,” said the official. He pointed out in view of the inadequate security guards here, the installation of the CCTV camera would enhanced the jail security.