A helping paw to curb drug menace inside jail Ludhiana Central Jail complex
The dog squad would work in different shifts, and as per jail staff, will be helpful in bringing down drug recoveries from the inmates
In a bid to curb drug menace in the prison, the Central Jail has been given its own dog squad. The jail received three Belgian Malinois dogs, trained to sniff out drugs, on Sunday. The squad is expected to inspect inmates returning from the hearings to ensure that no drugs are being smuggled in.
The dog squad would work in different shifts, and as per jail staff, will be helpful in bringing down drug recoveries from the inmates, who have smuggled drugs by hiding the same in their clothes, shoes and body parts in the past.
According to jail officials there are only 110 jail guards to monitor nearly 4,000 inmates. Notably, the jail only has a capacity to accommodate 2,500 inmates.
Central Jail superintendent Shivraj Singh said following the repeated incidents of drugs smuggling, the government decided to provide dog squads to all facilities and thus, the three canines had arrived here.
Speaking of the same, he said, “We used to nab such inmates and recover the drugs from their possession during their entry in the evening. However, some of the inmates managed to take the contraband by hiding it. As we have received the dog squad there are more chances that we would deter the drug menace,”
“Apart from scanning the inmates on their arrival the dog squad would also help the staff in scanning the barracks. We had also found that the friends of the inmates used to throw the drugs and mobile phones over the compound wall. We will conduct a search alongside the compound wall also,” the SSP added.
Earlier in November 2019, as many as 76 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel had been deputed in the jail’s meeting room, entrance of the main jail complex, at high security cells and on patrolling on the outer wall of the jail to help deter the drug menace.
