All prisons in Punjab to be mobile free in 8 months: jail minister Bains
During a surprise visit to the Ludhiana Central Jail, Bains said aides of inmates used to throw the mobile phones in the jail over the compound walls. Now, they would also trace the owner of the SIM cards and would take action against them too
Punjab cabinet minister for jails and mining Harjot Singh Bains assures to free all jails in the state of mobile phones in next 6–8 months, making Punjab the first state in the country to achieve the milestone, if successful.
During a surprise visit to the Ludhiana Central Jail, Bains said the previous state governments had not taken any steps to reform jails. “The AAP government would never allow jails to become “safe havens” for gangsters. Jails are being developed in the true sense of the word,” he said.
He said jammers and CCTV cameras with advanced technology were being installed in all jails, adding that the aides of inmates used to throw the mobile phones in the jail over the compound walls. Now, they would also trace the owner of the SIM cards and would take action against them too.
Bains told that during his tenure, over 1,000 mobile phones had been seized in record two-and-a-half months from the jails. He said the previous governments had not paid any attention to the basic development of jails, but now we are recruiting new staff to fill the vacant positions. Recruitment process of 1,000 jail wardens is in pipeline, he said.
Further, he added that many jails in the state, including Ludhiana, had been placed in the category of high security. He appealed to the people of Punjab to give some more time to the Aam Aadmi Party government to see the Punjab of their dreams.
Commissioner of police Kaustubh Sharma, joint commissioner Ravcharan Singh Brar, jail superintendent, and other officials also accompanied the minister.
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