2 mobile phones found at Yerawada prison’s Anda cell, probe on

“According to the FIR filed by the vigilance squad officer, he and his team members conducted a sweep of the Anda cell once at around 4 pm and again at around 7 pm. In the second search, the vigilance team members found two cell phones kept inside the locked steel door which gives access to a part of the cell. Senior prison officials were subsequently informed and seized phones were examined. No SIM cards were found in these cell phones. They are cell phones of two different models of a Chinese origin manufacturer. The two cell phones are small in size,” said a police officer.

An internal probe by the prison department has been launched, an officer said. A senior officer with Pune police said that a probe had been initiated after the registration of the FIR and various investigation entities have been activated.

Officials said that the discovery of the mobile phones in Anda cell raises several questions about overall security measures at the Yerawada Prison, especially on the backdrop of very stringent security measures in place at the cell and also because of the high risk inmates housed there. Officials said that convicts and undertrials in terror cases, serious and sensitive cases and those held for involvement in organised crime are generally housed in these cells.

Named as Anda cell because of their oval shapes like an egg, these high security cells are a feature of almost all maximum security Central prisons across the country.

Officials say they are designed in such a way to keep the inmates separate and also give patrolling officers the maximum possible view of each of the inmates. The cell is detached from the rest of the prison premises and has its separate yard and other facilities thus completely separating the inmates housed in the cell from the rest of the prison population.

“Among various aspects, we are investigating the fact that the cell phones were not found in the initial sweep but in the second one conducted later. A forensic examination of the cell phones will be done and the probe will be based on its findings,” said a police officer.