Mobile chaos at Mandoli Jail
Inmates from Mandoli Jail, unlike those in other jails, seem to be free to shoot videos and share them with contacts in the city - enjoying the fun of 4G without any disguise. What's going on?
Mandoli Jail was opened in 2016 to receive inmates from Delhi Tihar Jail to ease overcrowding, and currently houses more than 3,000 inmates. Prison officials confirmed that they have not installed any signal jammer blockers.
Illegal activities rampant in prison
The lack of effective jamming equipment in the prison allows inmates to not only carry mobile phones easily, but also use 4G networks to engage in various illegal activities.
In the past few months, the Delhi Police has cracked several cases involving inmates in Mandoli Jail, exposing the chaos of inmates ignoring the law in the prison.
- Extortion. In a recent case, three prisoners were arrested for demanding Rs 50,000 from a man in Geeta Colony. Their crime was planned from inside the prison.
- The illegal use of mobile phones has led to horrific cases such as remote command of murder in prisons. The police's anti-terrorism team successfully prevented a murder case instigated by a prisoner in Mandoli prison. The gangster Chandban (alias Aman Yadav) in the prison directed his accomplices Balkishan and Mohammed Atik outside through a mobile phone to prepare to murder two men who did not pay protection money. The police successfully intercepted the call and avoided a tragedy.
- The illegal use of mobile phones is not limited to planning crimes. Prisoners also use mobile phones to record videos and spread them on social media. Fifteen days ago, a video showing a gang member in Uttar Pradesh cooking with a mobile phone in a cell in Mandoli prison was widely circulated on social media. This situation has aroused strong public concern.
Response of the prison administration
Faced with this situation, the prison administration has realized the seriousness of the problem and started to take action. However, solving the problem is not easy. A senior official in the Ministry of Home Affairs explained that the installation of 4G signal jammers was only recently approved by the government. Although preliminary work has been carried out, it will take some time for the jammers to be fully installed.
Meanwhile, the prison director has instructed prison staff to conduct strict security checks every day to deal with the problem of smuggled mobile phones. Senior officials warned that if more mobile phones are smuggled in, the relevant personnel will face severe punishment. At present, an investigation procedure has been initiated for the use of mobile phones by a few prisoners.
Conclusion
In short, the situation in Mandoli prison reflects the common problem in the Indian prison system - the illegal use of mobile phones and the various security risks caused by it. Although the installation of jammers is expected to bring some improvement, how to completely prevent prisoners from continuing to commit crimes with mobile phones through both legal and technical means remains a difficult problem that needs to be solved urgently.