The many extortion rackets being operated from inside Tihar jail has thrown open many questions as to how inmates get access to phones so easily inside the jail. Guess how they get them? Their relatives or friends pack them in plastic and throw them over the wall into the jail premises.
Absurd as it might sound, this practice has been going on for quite some time and has now become a big problem for the jail authorities as these “throwing” has seen a spike in the last few months. “Till last year, throwing incidents were twice or thrice a week but for the last two-three months, it has become an everyday phenomenon,” a jail official said.
According to the authorities, throwing of mobile phones has seen a spike as security officials inside the jail have become very strict and are frequently catching inmates who smuggle phones by hiding them inside body cavities.
Apart from mobile phones, other things that are thrown over the jail walls are contraband substances including tobacco, drugs, cigarettes, etc. “People pack phones inside layers of polythene covers and throw them inside for their friends or relatives to use. This has been happening almost everyday these days. One or two phones are caught in one of the jails on a regular basis,” the official said.
Tihar jail complex being situated in the middle of a residential area, Tilak Nagar in West Delhi makes the place more vulnerable to such incidents.
“The location of the jail premises is such that if a person stands on the jail road flyover situated opposite the jail premises and throws something, it will fall either in jail number 8, 9 or 1. If something is thrown from the side of Jehangirpuri it will fall inside jail number 4. Something thrown from the side of residential quarters situated in front of gate number 2 in Tilak Nagar, will fall either in jail number 2 or 1,” the official added.
“Most of the throwing happens inside jail 8, 9 and 1 owing to the location of all these jails,” he added.
Another reason that adds on to the trouble is a primary school being situated very close to the school. “We assume that a lot of throwing of contraband things happen from the school premises,” the official said.
According to the jail authorities, extra security personnel have been deployed to check this menace. Apart from this, former Director Generals of Tihar jail have also tried to address this problem by writing letters to the Delhi government and requesting the municipal bodies to take action.
