Ferozepur Central Jail walls fail to stop mobile influx; 8 mobiles 8 inmates booked
FEROZEPUR, JUNE 20, 2026: The relentless influx of contraband into the high-security Central Jail, Ferozepur, continues unabated, with prison authorities recovering eight more mobile phones during a meticulously executed surprise search operation inside the premises.
Following the major recovery, criminal cases under the Prisons Act have been registered against eight undertrial prisoners identified as Sunil, Arshdeep Singh alias Arsh, Lakhwinder Singh alias Nikka, Jaswinder Singh, Jaj, Karamjit Singh, Sukhdev Singh, and Manpreet Singh.
The latest seizure underscores a deeply troubling, year-on-year escalation in the smuggling of communication devices into the facility. Statistical data over the past seven years reveals an exponential upward trajectory in mobile phone recoveries. The jail authorities seized 70 mobile phones in 2019, which nearly doubled to 130 in 2020. The numbers continued to skyrocket over the subsequent years, with 265 recoveries recorded in 2021, 437 in 2022, and 469 in 2023. The influx hit a high of 500 in 2024 before reaching an unprecedented record high of 649 mobile phones recovered in 2025. This momentum has shown no signs of slowing down in the current year, with 192 mobile phones and various other banned items already confiscated in less than six months.
The continuous breach has cast a long shadow of doubt over the jail administration's persistent claims of maintaining a foolproof, three-layered security apparatus and enhanced surveillance systems. Mobile phones remain the most sought-after contraband item within prison walls, allowing inmates to maintain uninterrupted contact with the outside world for personal use or to orchestrate illicit operations, losing the purpose of keeping them behind the bars.
Sources reveal that while FIRs are promptly registered under the Prisons Act, comprehensive follow-up investigations into the source and usage of these phones are rarely conducted, except in high-profile cases.
A severe shortage of police personnel makes extracting prisoners from jail on police remand a high-risk logistical challenge, effectively stalling deeper probes into how these gadgets bypass stringent manual and electronic checks.