Social welfare and prisons minister A. Narayanaswamy on Wednesday admitted that the central government had warned the state government on telephone calls being made from state jails to other countries, including Pakistan. Mr Narayanaswamy said central intelligence agencies have asked the state prisons department to increase security to prevent such calls.
The state government has taken a serious note of the alert and upgrading jammers. The present jammers at prisons can prevent calls from 2G telephone connections, but not 3G. The jammers will be upgraded to stop calls from 3G connections too, he said. The government-owned Electronic Corporation India Limited is fixing the jammers and works have already begun in Bengaluru and Mysore prisons, he said.
On installing CCTV cameras inside the prison, he said that a proposal was made to call for tenders, but as it was a security issue and private players could win bids, the work was given to ECIL. Following the alert, the prisons department has decided to further upgrade Super Max cells, which have the maximum security, in various prisons to lodge those arrested on charges of terrorism and underworld. There are 80 Super Max cells in Bellary jail, which will be upgraded. In the first phase, 120 Super Max cells will be constructed in Bengaluru and Mysore jails.
The project will be extended to Belgaum and Gulbarga jails, he said. On complaints that the Aland Jail, constructed in 1996, is in a bad shape, he said the government will soon take a decision on whether to repair the structure or to demolish and rebuild a new jail. He admitted that there are problems with the prison administration, but said overcrowding of prisons was the main reason behind the prevailing chaos. The government is thinking of establishing a Prisons Academy to increase efficiency in the prisons administration, he said.