To upgrade security: Govt clears 222 SLRs for prisons across Maharashtra

The State Prison Department had started upgrading security measures after the murder of alleged Indian Mujahideen operative Mohammed Qateel Siddiqui, in the high-security Anda Cell of Yerawada Central Jail in Pune, in 2012. On June 8, 2012, Qateel was allegedly strangulated to death by two gangsters, Sharad Mohol and Alok Bhalerao, who were lodged in the same cell. Immediately after the incident, the state government announced that CCTV cameras would be installed on the premises of all major jails in Maharashtra and their overall security would be upgraded.

The process also involved procurement of wireless communication sets (walkie-talkies), SLRs for guards, and hand-held and door-frame metal detectors and closed circuit television (CCTV) cameras.

As part of the upgradation, central jails and district jails have received CCTV cameras, cell phone network jammers and metal detectors. C H Wakde, inspector general of the prison department, confirmed that the home department has cleared budgetary provisions for the purchase and after completing the required procedures, the weapons will be procured from the Ordnance Factory in Tamil Nadu’s Tiruchirappalli.