Three cellphones seized from Yerawada Central Jail

IN MORE cases of seizure of cellphones from the maximum security Yerawada Central Prison in Pune, authorities have recovered three cell phones in three separate searches on August 24, 25 and 30.

The Indian Express had earlier reported that between April 1 and July, prison authorities recovered 33 cell phones in 20 cases across Maharashtra, in a drive to weed out phones from prisons. Of these the highest number — 17 phones — have been seized in 12 cases from Yerawada Prison alone. The seizures of 33 phones were in addition to multiple recoveries of cellphone batteries and SIM cards, which officials say, are equally ‘useful’ for an inmate when phones are shared among a group.

In the first of the latest three cases, a cellphone was seized from an undertrial inmate on August 24; a cell phone, two batteries and a charger were found  on August 25, and a cell phone hidden beneath a loosened floor tile was recovered on August 30. An FIR was registered at Yerawada police station on September 2. in which the three were booked under Section 42 of Prisons Act (taking prohibited items into prisons) and IPC section 188 (disobeying orders by public servants).