Prisons DGP Alexander Jacob has called for a scientific examination of evidence in the alleged Facebook activities of the remand prisoners in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case. Owning up moral responsibility for the incident, Jacob said the current row could also be viewed as a deliberate attempt to put the accused in further trouble.
“I am responsible for whatever happened in the jail. The Home Minister and the subordinate officers could not be blamed for that,’’ the Prisons DGP told reporters here on Thursday. “If needed, it could be doubted that the row erupted just before the verdict in the T P Chandrasekharan murder case was to be delivered was an attempt to influence the judge against the accused. The intention of the controversy could be that if the accused were acquitted in the murder case, they could be convicted at least on these grounds. But, as a police officer, I feel every aspect of the issue has to be scrutinised. Therefore, my opinion is that a scientific examination will be appropriate,’’ Jacob said.
The use of mobile phones and internet by the accused should also be scientifically proved. Though the audio of remand prisoner Shafi talking over mobile phone was telecast in television channels, it should also be proved that it was his voice. It is not difficult to create photographs of anyone against any background using modern techniques. Therefore, it also has to be examined that whether the photos are genuine, the Prisons DGP said.
When asked about the incident in which K K Lathika MLA met her husband and remand prisoner in the TP murder case, P Mohanan, at a restaurant, the DGP said as an MLA K K Lathika has the privilege to visit any prisoner in jail. Therefore, there is nothing wrong in she meeting her husband at the restaurant, he said. The functioning of mobile phone jammers in the jails is not effective. Around 200 phones were found in an inspection conducted recently. But there was no action from the Intelligence Bureau or the police though the details of the phone calls were handed over to them.
“The shortage of staff is a grave issue of the Prisons Department. There are only 46 staff in the district jail in Kozhikode to control 324 inmates. There has been no action from the Public Service Commission though it was intimated about the staff shortage many times. The jail staff had to face threats from the accused as the police were inactive,’’ Alexander Jacob said.
