Recovery of prohibited items: Four Tihar officials dismissed

“The dismissed officials are Vinay Parkash (assistant superintendent) and wardens Ajay, Raju and Rakesh. Parkash was in service at the jail for the last 15 years, while the others had put in over eight years of service,” Prasad said.

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Tihar sources said Ajay and Raju allegedly tried to smuggle in a cache of prohibited items — cellphones, chargers and tobacco packets — by hurling a stocking stuffed with the items from outside the jail complex.

“The inquiry revealed that the stocking was hurled allegedly by Ajay from outside the jail complex, while Raju was present inside allegedly to collect it.
However, the plan went haywire when, instead of the pre-determined spot, the stocking landed near the interview room of Jail No 9. The prohibited items were discovered by Tihar officials later,” said a source.

The inquiry found that the whole incident was captured by CCTV cameras. Sources said the footage showed that Ajay and Raju tried to smuggle the prohibited articles through the deodhy (entry point) where Parkash was present. However, instead of frisking them, he allegedly allowed them to go inside and outside the jail complex. Rakesh was posted at the entrance but allegedly did not raise any objection, the sources added.

“Ajay and Raju tried to damage the digital video recording with the help of some officials after they realised they had been caught on CCTV cameras… They even tried to erase the footage. The matter was forwarded to senior officers, who initiated the inquiry,” said sources.

Tihar authorities said 32 prison officials were found involved in smuggling of prohibited items inside the prison complex in the last three years. Disciplinary action was initiated in all cases except two, where the proceedings were dropped.

But this year, the high number of cellphones confiscated from inmates has been a cause of worry for officials. “Over 70 cellphones have been recovered from inside the prison already. In the last four years, between nine and 40 cellphones were recovered from the prisoners,” said a jail official.