Task cut out for Ludh jail's new superintendent

Time of India

6 days ago

Ludhiana: Ludhiana Central Jail, located on Tajpur Road, has a new superintendent in Kulwant Singh Sidhu. He had previously served in this capacity for a year during the outbreak of Covid-19.
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The challenges ahead for him include the alleged involvement of jail staff in providing prohibited items to inmates, the reported tossing of contraband from outside, and the involvement of some inmates in criminal activities outside the jail. Recently, Ludhiana police brought gangster Sukhwinder Singh Moni, lodged in Ludhiana jail, on a production warrant for his alleged involvement in a firing case in Jawahar Nagar.
Earlier too, several inmates were found to be behind criminal activities outside the jail.
The new superintendent will also have to keep a hawk's eye on the jail staff. On July 11, the security personnel of the jail nabbed an Indian Reserve Battalion (IRB) constable, Jagdeep Singh, for sneaking contraband. The jail officials recovered 30gm of tobacco and 14 sachets of tobacco from his possession. The accused was allegedly supplying contraband to the inmates in exchange for money.
Constable Jagdeep Singh was deputed at the jail for the past 14 years.
Prior to this, on March 24, Irfan, who was working on a project to install artificial intelligence-equipped cameras in the prison, was caught providing tobacco to an inmate, Shafeeq Khan. Both Irfan and Shafeeq were booked, and 250gm of tobacco was seized from Shafeeq's possession.
The next challenge for the superintendent is the alleged tossing of mobiles and contraband from outside.
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Several houses are built near the boundary wall of the jail.
According to jail officials, people throw mobiles, tobacco, and other prohibited items, after wrapping them properly, inside the jail from the rooftops of their houses. The jail authorities have claimed that the mobiles recovered from the jail inmates are mostly thrown inside from these houses.
Superintendent Sidhu said, "I don't take these as big challenges.
As I have already served as a superintendent at Ludhiana jail from April 2020 to April 2021, I know the issues here. To check the tossing of prohibited items into the jail from outside, AI cameras have already been installed and will be functional soon. Besides, regular patrolling and drone surveillance will also be ensured in the surroundings."
Asked about the involvement of inmates in criminal activities and how they manage to contact their aides outside, Sidhu said, "What I have observed over time is that sometimes the inmates also use the landline phone facility provided to them to pass on their messages, albeit in code words. All these calls are recorded, which we do listen to as well. However, they do not speak clearly over these calls to avoid getting caught.
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Sidhu further stated that his focus would also be on the counselling the inmates, especially those who come to jail for the first time, as the right guidance would lead them to a crime-free life.