A constable of the Tamil Nadu Special Police (8th Battalion) that provides security to Tihar and Mandoli prison complexes in Delhi has been removed from service for allegedly smuggling mobile phones into the restricted zones.
Following the incident, the State invoked provisions under Article 311 of the Constitution to dismiss Constable Anbarasan.
He smuggled mobile phones into Mandoli Prison Complex at the behest of inmates or their accomplices outside the jail. The officials have seized tobacco and audio tapes, which allegedly exposed the Constable bargaining money with unidentified persons to facilitate the smuggling.
Additional Director-General of Police (Armed Police) M. Shakeel Akther told The Hindu that he had instructed the TSP Battalion Commandant to take stringent action. “An enquiry into criminal misconduct and connivance of police personnel or others in the offence will follow,” he said. The Mandoli Prison Complex houses six jails with a capacity of about 3,700 inmates. It was built to ease the pressure on Tihar and Rohini jails. The complex is manned by the Tamil Nadu police and Central Reserve Police Force. The prison was in the news recently after a video showing three prisoners having a “good time” was leaked.
Article 311 which empowers the appointing authority to dismiss, remove or reduce the rank of persons employed in civil capacities under the Union or a State is invoked in rare cases where the offence committed by the public servant is heinous in nature. While it is not clear how the Constable managed to smuggle in the phones and tobacco despite the multi-layer security, the TSP officials did not rule out the connivance of other members of the force.
“Perusing the phone conversations and CCTV footage it appears that he was operating for quite some time now and used to hide the contraband in his shoes. If investigation reveals smuggling of drugs then we will book the accused under appropriate sections of law,” a senior officer said.
