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After a series of seizures of cellphones inside Yerawada Central Prison since April 1st, authorities have intercepted what they believe could be one of the “patterns” of these cellphones being smuggled into the maximum security prison – cellphone batteries packed into tennis balls. and telephones – packed with cotton wool and tape – thrown against the double walls of the facility.
In the latest seizure from inside Yerwada Central Prison, prison authorities found four mobile phone batteries – two inserted into two tennis balls by inserting holes in each and four mobile phones packed neatly in two bundles of cotton and sticky tape. The tennis balls and tennis packs were found by two prison officials – a prisoner in charge of the prison’s internal security and a senior prison guard – while patrolling along the walls of the prison compound around 4pm on June 25.
The balls and packages were found in the space between two walls of the prison next to the area called Madi Gate of the Prison, officials told Express. The first information report in the case was registered at the Yerwada Police Station on 26 June under the provisions of the Prisons Act 1894.
“This looks like a way to smuggle cell phones into the prison. Such work is not possible without the collusion and coordination between the inmates inside and the suspects outside. Forensic analysis of cell phones and investigation of their history of use may give us evidence of this.” said an officer from the prison administration. The case has been registered with the police and we have also opened an internal investigation. One of the four mobile phones is a smartphone and three of them have SIM cards,” the officer said.
It was the fifth time that mobile phones had been seized from inside the Yerwada Jail, which has the largest number of prisoners among the Maharashtra jails. As of 31 May, the date when the latest prisoner numbers are available, the population of Yerwada Prison was 6,724 against 2,752 – 144 percent overcrowding.
A senior officer in the Department of Prisons said, “Senior officials in the department have taken note of this detention and security measures are expected to be reviewed in light of the confiscation of mobile phones that could have been thrown from outside. The use of shock-absorbing objects such as balls or canisters is not new. There Mechanisms are in place to prevent such actions, which will also be reviewed.”
Four cases of seizure of cell phones had been previously reported since April. On the evening of April 1 around 6 pm, in a search by three staff members of Yerwada Prison, a cell phone was found after they checked a suspicious bend on a tin wall in the bathroom of Barrack No. 3 of Precinct No. 1 of Yerwada Prison.
On April 20, during a surprise combing operation that took place in the evening, Two cell phones were found Inside an iron gate to one section of Anda’s cell, the highest security cell in Yerawada Prison. No SIM cards are found in these phones.
In the early hours of May 19, a mobile phone with a battery and a SIM card was found in Barrack No. 1 of Precinct No. 1 of the prison. Three days later, a cell phone battery was recovered from a prisoner on trial on 22 May.
On June 3, a mobile phone was found in Barrack No. 8 of Precinct No. 1 of Yerawada Central Prison.
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