Jail staff vigilance leads to recovery of 8 mobiles, 9 inmates booked
Ferozepur, October 16, 2026: Eight more mobile phones, along with four chargers, two data cables and other prohibited articles, have been recovered during a search operation at Ferozepur Central Jail, highlighting the continuing challenge before prison authorities in checking the entry and use of banned material inside the jail.
According to the official record, the latest recovery included 48 pouches of tobacco (zarda) and five suspected red-coloured capsules. The recovery has led to registration of a case against the 9 inmates booked in the matter - Gurdip Singh alias Kalu, Saira alias Raju, Ramdin Singh, Gurtej Singh, Sukhchain Singh, Simranjit Singh and Shubham Kumar - while Sukhdev Singh has been appointed as the Investigating Officer for further investigation. However, the IO will investigate to establish the source of the prohibited articles and determine whether any outside persons or others were involved in supplying them to the inmates.
The repeated recovery of mobile phones from the jail has become a matter of concern. As per the available recovery figures, 40 mobile phones were recovered in January, 51 in February, 34 in March, 25 in April, 29 in May, 39 in June, 30 in July, 26 in August, 27 in September and 16 in October so far, taking the total to 317 mobile phones recovered during the year.
The continued recoveries are particularly significant as the jail is protected by a three-layer security arrangement. The latest seizure also raises questions over the effectiveness and continuity of the mobile jammers installed in the jail, though their functioning and operational status would need to be verified by the competent authorities. The operation of the jammers has also reportedly been a source of inconvenience for adjoining residential and commercial establishments.
The authorities will also need to examine how such material is reaching inmates despite the multi-layer security system.
It is also learnt that, except in high-profile cases, such matters generally end with registration of a case and investigation from outside the jail. Taking jail inmates on police remand is not considered free from security concerns, as their movement from the highly secured prison premises involves additional security arrangements and risks.