The Jail Department on Wednesday suspended seven jail wardens for selling mobile phones to prison inmates.
The suspended wardens were identified as S. Ramachandran, Sabari, Seenu, R. Shankar, Suresh, Segar and Gurunathan.
The alleged nexus between the prison staff and inmates came to light during a search conducted by Kalapet police after law enforcers traced the source of a hoax phone call to the jail.
During the search, police recovered 10 mobiles and several SIM cards from under-trial prisoners. Inquires conducted by the police and higher officials in the department revealed that the wardens were the main source for jail inmates to procure mobile phones. They allegedly collected money from the inmates and supplied the phones to the prisoners, sources said.
Regarding the hoax phone call, a police source said, a case has been registered against an under-trial, Nithish Sharma. Last Sunday, the police went into a tizzy after the control room received a phone call that bombs were kept at Raj Nivas and Railway station.
