In a first, the Tamil Nadu Prison Department has procured German-made jammers to curb the use of mobile phones by inmates in 12 central prisons, including three special prisons for women, across the State. The imported jammer is area-specific and will not interfere with mobile phone connectivity outside the prison premises. The first jammer was installed at Puzhal Central Prison–II this week and the entire process is expected to be completed by the end of November, prison sources said on Thursday.
Additional Director-General of Police (Prisons) C. Sylendra Babu said the jammers would initially be installed in central prisons that house high security blocks where hardcore criminals, extremists and fundamentalists were lodged.
“This is the first time that we are installing area-specific jammers in Tamil Nadu prisons. The gadgets were procured through the Electronics Corporation of India Ltd (ECIL). The customised jammers will not be a hindrance to mobile phone or other devices outside the prison,” he told The Hindu .
According to a senior ECIL official, the German jammers were found to be very effective when installed for VVIP security, in prisons and other sensitive establishments. “We have installed them in Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand central prisons where a large number of Maoists are lodged in high security blocks. The security protocol of the Jharkhand Chief Minister includes these gadgets…they have placed order for more jammers now,” the official who preferred not to be quoted said.
A team of ECIL engineers had inspected Puzhal prison complex a few months ago to assess the jammer specification. Mobile phone jammers could not be installed in Tamil Nadu prisons as a long-term solution since they interfered with the connectivity in areas adjoining the prison campuses.
Continuing menace
Use of mobile phones by inmates has been a menace that could not be controlled owing to the alleged connivance of some prison staff. Many crimes were believed to have been planned in prisons by gangsters who used mobile phones to communicate the plot to their henchmen outside.
Early this year, prison authorities conducted a storming operation in all central prisons and seized hundreds of mobile phones. Mobile phones were seized from the cell in which V. Sriharan alias Murugan, one of the life convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, is lodged in the Vellore central prison.
Despite stringent frisking at the entry point of all central prisons, mobile phones reach prisoners by various means.
“The seizures included many smart phones with SIM cards. The seizures were referred to intelligence agencies for analysis. Action was taken against many prison officials on charges of either facilitating the use of mobile phones or not taking action to curb the use of the contraband,” a senior police official said.
