From jail, a Facebook diary

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One of the six, dreaded gangster Gurpreet Singh Sekhon alias Mudki, wrote on November 26, “Kaam aisa karo ki naam ho jaaye, warna naam aisa karo ki naam lete hi kaam ho jaaye (Do something so great that it makes you famous, or be so famous that work gets done just on the strength of your name).”

Prisoners are known to post photos, of their birthday celebrations in jail, of lying down in the cell and listening to music, group photographs, even selfies, as well as messages for their girlfriends outside, proudly tagged with their location: ‘Nabha Jail’, ‘Faridkot Jail’, ‘Nabha High Security Jail’ etc.

They talk about being happy at meeting their “veer (brothers)” in jail, feeling sad or simply bored. They speak about court hearings being “a lot of fun”. On May 1, Deep ‘Shooter Bathinda’, lodged in jail for murders, boasted, “High Court peshi jatt di, seel ho gaya Chandigarh sara (A Jat is going for a court hearing, the entire Chandigarh is sealed).”

Some pose with the weapons they have smuggled inside jail, while others challenge senior policemen. In May, after gangster Jaswinder Singh alias Rocky was murdered, rival Vicky Gounder (who also escaped from the Nabha jail) and wanted gangster Jaipal (absconding) competed with each other on Facebook to take credit for the killing.

The posts get thousands of ‘likes’, along with comments of “Miss U bro”, “That is so cool bro!”, “Wow, super awesome bro”, and the effusive “Virey tu agg laayi payi hai (Bro, you are on fire)”.

Officials admit prisoners have access to not just mobile phones, Internet and chargers but also pre-paid recharge coupons.

Former DGP (prisons) Shashikant says that during his tenure, there had been cases of criminals getting themselves shifted from one jail to another to intimidate rivals. “We recovered a sack full of mobile phones from Ludhiana jail once. But yes, most of the times smartphones are never taken away from hardcore and politically influential criminals. All that is shown in recovery during raids are cheap phones recovered from petty inmates,” he says.

Former DGP, prisons, Izhar Alam calls it a case of “Chacha qaidi, bhatija warden; bhatija qaidi, chacha warden”. “It all works with the connivance of the jail staff. They avoid taking on dreaded criminals. Secondly, under our law, there is no serious punishment if phones are recovered from prisoners.”

Worse, Alam adds, “(Through their posts) these gangsters are becoming cult figures for Punjab’s youth. They are seen as cool superheroes fearlessly challenging police.”

On July 29, ‘Sharp Shooter Sukha’ posed with a photo of two revolvers, saying ‘Gundey Returns — Feeling Lucky at Nabha Jail’.

On September 30, Amandeep Dhotian from Tarn Taran, who was among those who fled from Nabha Jail, posted a photograph from inside with the chilling caption that those who didn’t see him favourably could “donate their eyes”.

On May 8, dreaded sharpshooter Davinder Singh Bambiha openly challenged police to arrest him. Accused of murdering sarpanch Ravi Khwajke in February and dancing over his body, he said that was just a “trailer”. In his case though, luck ran out. In September, Bambiha was killed in an “encounter”.