Jagatsinghpur: The Jagatsinghpur sub-jail at Alipingal in the district is suffering from serious security lapses and is open to influence from outside, a report said.
There is a road passing next to the south boundary wall of the prison. It has turned out to be quite useful for the prisoners to connect to the outside world. Associates of the convicts regularly come close to the wall and throw inside all types of material and contraband items like mobile phones, ganja and other forms of narcotics. This has been going on for many years now. With the help of mobile phones, prisoners are able to keep in touch with the outside world and carry on their criminal activities.
There are a number of reasons why such activities are continuing. Prison authorities are yet to install mobile phone jammers within the premises. The prison also lacks watch towers to keep a proper watch on the inmates who carry out their criminal activities with impunity.
Sources said the Jagatsinghpur sub-jail is spread over five acre of land and has the capacity to house 176 prisoners including 167 males and nine females. Currently, 161 prisoners are lodged in the jail.
The jail has seven male and one female ward and four male and one female cell. Some of the inmates have been convicted of heinous crimes. Yet their activities are not monitored in a proper manner by the authorities.
The road to the south of the jail is used by the residents of Naugaon block as well as 50 other villages to commute to their destinations. The henchmen and associates of the criminals come to side of the road when it gets deserted. They throw various items over the wall for their associates. Even though at times, these are confiscated by the authorities, on most occasions they find their way into the hand of the inmates.
Local intelligentsia has demanded for a permanent solution to the problems. They claimed that the compound wall is only seven feet high. They feel if the height is increased substantially, it will prevent the supply of materials into the jail. Also, the presence of a jammer will prevent mobile connection. Two watch towers should be constructed for keeping a watch on the prisoners. Some of them also suggested that CCTV cameras should be installed within the prison premises to watch the activities of the inmates.
The lone dispensary in the jail premises providing healthcare to the inmates should be upgraded, former jailor Rabindranath Behera said. He said that he has drawn the attention of the district administration and one ADG of police over this matter but nothing has been done so far.
When contacted, jailor Ratikant Shukla admitted to the charges and assured to draw the attention of the higher authorities to resolve these problems.
PNN