Ludhiana: Panel recommends jammers in central jail to curb phone smuggling
he committee, which comprises district and sessions judge, commissioner of police, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) and superintendent of Ludhiana Central Jail, held a meeting on Tuesday and would send the assessment to the government
A committee formed for the assessment of security at Ludhiana Central Jail advocated for installation of jammers in the jail premises to curb the smuggling of mobile phones.
The committee, which comprises district and sessions judge, commissioner of police, additional deputy commissioner (ADC) and superintendent of Ludhiana Central Jail, held a meeting on Tuesday and would send the assessment to the government.
Shivraj Singh Nandgarh, superintendent at the Ludhiana Central Jail, stated that installation of a call blocking system or a jammer in the jail would deter inmates from using mobile phones. They have sent a recommendation to the government.
Nandgarh added that they have also discussed giving the charge of taking the inmates to the court complex from jail, for hearing of their respective cases, to the jail guard. Earlier, the police teams used to ferry the inmates to the court complex from jail and vice versa.
He added that they also demanded that a police team be at the jail to ferry inmates to civil hospital for medical examination. Earlier, they needed to call on the police teams to take the inmates to hospitals, which took a lot of time.
Further, he added that the committee also recommended increasing the number of CCTVs in the jail premises.
Smuggling of mobile phones has become a challenge for the jail officials. In 2023, more than 1,000 mobile phones were recovered from the Ludhiana Central Jail. Two senior officials of the jail were arrested by the police for smuggling mobile phones and drugs among the jail inmates in exchange of money.
The central jail was in the news after videos of jail inmates celebrating the birthday of a fellow inmate went viral on social networking sites. An inquiry was marked in the matter.