BHOPAL: An egg-shaped block like the one that housed Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab at Mumbai’s Arthur Road Jail is coming up for infamous prisoners at the Bhopal Central Jail.
In April, the Madhya Pradesh government approved 120 additional posts of security personnel for the two high-security blocks of the Bhopal jail. Security has been in focus ever since eight SIMI men escaped from one of the high-security blocks in 2016.
Once complete, the new block will give the jail administration the option of shifting out a majority of the dreaded under trials and convicts who are kept at the two blocks. Former all-India SIMI head Safdar Nagori and self-styled state chief Abu Faisal alias ‘Doctor’ are among the 30 high-profile prisoners lodged at this prison.
Jail officials visited Tihar, Arthur Road and Yerawada jails before finalising the design of the new block. “The fully concrete jail will ensure that no underground tunnel can be dug. The egg-shaped block that will have 31 individual cells, is designed in such a way that even a single guard can effectively keep a watch on all individual cells,” a senior jail official said.Latest CCTV network will be among the about `3 crore worth additional security features. “We hope to get the new block by October after which the most security sensitive prisoners will be shifted there,” Bhopal Jail superintendent Dinesh Nargawe said.