2 district jails, 3 central jails and 1 high security jail in Punjab to have Full Body Scanners to curb smuggling
Kanwar Inder Singh/ royalpatiala.in
To check and control the smuggling of drugs, mobile phones, sim cards and other small size items inside the jail, Punjab government is going to install full body scanners at various jails of the state.
As per available information, Punjab prisons (Jails) department has mooted a pilot project in which six jails are chosen in which the full body scanner is going to be installed in coming days.
The body scanners that have capability of reliable, accurate and stable detection for the metallic, nonmetallic weapons, firearms, explosives, plastic explosive, liquid explosive, narcotics and other contrabands objects like mobile phones, blade, knives, lighter etc inside body cavity, swallowed inside the body, concealed in artificial limb or on body surface, radioactive material hidden inside the clothes or body, produce medical type X-Ray images that do not allow facial recognition and do not display private body parts are going to be installed at six different jails of Punjab.
As per the initial plan Central Jail Bathinda, Security Jail Nabha, District Jail Sangrur, Central jail Kapurthala, District jail Sri Muktsar Sahib and Central Jail Amritsar will have full body scanners to check the smuggling of drugs, sim cards by the inmates, accused lodged in the jail. The scanner will also scan the jail staff or any other outsider coming to jail for official work. This scanning will break the nexus between the jail staff, outsiders and inmates.
“Now days, no jail in Punjab have full body scanners. It’s a very good and timely decision taken by the state government. The state government is seriously bringing reforms in the jails department. It’s necessary to check the smuggling of drugs and other small items” said an official on the condition of anonymity.
2 district jails, 3 central jails and 1 high security jail in Punjab to have Full Body Scanners to curb smuggling. As per reports, many inmates, jail staff hides the drugs, mobile phones, sim cards etc in their private parts, primarily the rectum area. Mobile phones, drugs have been recovered in the past from the inmates. As Punjab jails do not have body scanners, which have compounded the problem. Much of the drill has to be carried out manually in the presence of the security staff.
Few years ago, an inmate in a Punjab jail died due to infection when he was trying to bring a pack of “bidis” in his rectum. The inmate was produced before a court where one of his relatives gave him two packs of ‘bidis’. Two days later, he complained of severe pain and in the medical check-up, four “bidis” were found in his rectum, which led to severe infection.
September 13,2022
