Interview: UP jail minister reveals strategy to check gang heads operating behind the bars
Role of jail staff in Deoria jail case cannot be denied and the government immediately initiated stern action against the jail superintendent, the warden and other staff. The message is clear: Such incidents would not be tolerated.
In the wake of the recent killing of the Prataparh jail head warden and the alleged involvement of a Mafioso-turned-politician in the abduction and assault of a Lucknow based realtor inside Deoria jail, the state government has pulled up its socks to set things right inside its jails. In an interview to Kenneth John, UP minister of state for jail and public service management Jai Kumar Singh Jaiki revealed the strategy formulated to check the activities kingpins and other criminals operating from behind the bars. Excerpts:
Haven’t the twin incidents of shooting of head jail warden besides abduction and assault of a realtor inside Deoria jail exposed the state of UP prisons?
It can’t be denied that criminals are operating from inside jails but the state government in the past 20 months has checked such acts considerably.
The role of jail staff in Deoria jail case cannot be denied and the government immediately initiated stern action against the jail superintendent, the warden and other staff. The message is clear: Such incidents would not be tolerated.
What strategy has the state government formulated to check such misacts?
The state government has shortlisted 44 hardened criminals who are either running gangs from UP jails or are active members of criminal gangs. A detailed record of their activities during their stay in prisons in the past is being prepared to assess and map their style of operations. These criminals will be shifted to other jails at regular intervals.
How will you deal with the Mafiosi lodged in state jails having nexus with criminals from outside UP?
We have started shifting criminals outside their usual areas of operations. Criminals like Mukhtar Ansari were shifted to Banda jail while earlier Atiq Ahmed was shifted from Naini jail to Deoria and now to Bareilly jail.
How many UP jails have jammers and are they effective? How criminals make calls from inside jail premises and how do they get mobile phones and SIM cards?
As of now, only 23 of total 58 district jails and seven central jails in the state have jammers which are mostly ineffective in blocking phone signals as they are equipped to check signals of 2G and 3G bandwidths. But now, 4G bandwidth phones are common. The role of jail staff in making mobile phones and SIM cards available to inmates cannot be denied and action is taken against such staff from time to time.
How will you deal with the technical issue of ineffective jammer in UP jails?
We have upgraded jammers in the past with the launching of new technology phones. But it is not possible to keep changing jammers of all 65 jails in UP every time. So, we are negotiating with private IT firms as well as BSNL for installing phone signal jammers in all UP jails capable of checking signals of all bandwidth. The same firm will be responsible to keep upgrading capacity of jammers as and when a new bandwidth is launched.
Overcrowding is an issue that has also made things difficult as far as management of prisons in the state is concerned?
We have turned two district jails of Etawah and Bareilly into central jails after extending their maximum housing capacity. We have already installed CCTV cameras in all UP jails and are planning to further make monitoring of day-to-day activities inside prisons more hi-tech. Other steps like increasing height of boundary walls and constructing new barracks are also under way.
