Two mobile phones, four SIM cards, a charger and a 2 GB memory card were seized during a raid jointly conducted by Prison Department Vigilance Wing and Vellore unit of Organised Crime Investigation Unit (OCIU) at Vellore Central Prison for Men, on Friday.
The raid was conducted after information was received about prisoners having mobile phones and other banned gadgets. Reliable prison sources said criminals lodged in the prison were operating their gangs and communicating with their associates at will. The criminals were sneaking mobile phones, SIM cards and chargers into the prison without much problem, the source added.
Reacting to the reports, a team led by deputy superintendent of police (DSP)of Vigilance Wing, R Hari, under the supervision of deputy inspector general of police (DIG), Prisons, Govindarajan conducted a surprise inspection in the prison. The vigilance team also roped in a five-member team under sub-inspector of Police, Vellore unit of OCIU, R Ashok Kumar, to conduct a random raid in all the blocks in the prison.
Convicts were taken out of their cells before the two teams began their raid around 5.45 am and winded up by 9 am. “The teams seized a 2GB memory card, a charger and SIM card from the cell of Sriharan (alais) Murugan, a death convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. Apart from this, the team also seized two mobile phones and three SIM cards from other blocks,” said a senior police officer in the prison department.
He further said they would submit a detailed report to their superiors.
Senior police officers, however, downplayed the raid and said it was routine for such raids to be conducted in prisons. “Inspection at prisons is a regular exercise. It goes on around the year from central prisons to sub-jails,” said ADGP (Prisons) J K Tripathy.