Pulls up Gujarat govt of 'lack of security' in prisons

The audit watchdog has lambasted the state government's home department for "lack of effective monitoring mechanism in prisons"

The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has lambasted the state government’s home department for “lack of effective monitoring mechanism in prisons” resulting in security lapses, which led to excavation of tunnel inside a yard in Sabarmati Central Jail in February 2013 by 55 prisoners accused in cases of 2008 Ahmedabad serial bomb blasts.  

The audit body in its report (2012-13 ) said, “Out of the 26 Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras installed in Sabarmati Central Jail in September 2007, 22 cameras were not working and system of taking footage had not been developed.”

The report, tabled in the Gujarat Assembly on Friday, further states,”Though there was shortage of 50 per cent of security staff for a long time and permission was granted by the government for recruitment of sepoys, the process for recruitment remained incomplete.”

“There were no watch towers surrounding the main wall of the old prison and the watch towers constructed inside were broken and abandoned. Binoculars and searchlights were not provided to staff on duty on the watch tower in test-checked prisons,” the report said adding that this was in contrast to Model Prison Manual (MPM) which stipulates that watch towers should be constructed both inside and outside the prison wherever necessary and searchlights and binoculars be provided to security staff on the watch towers.

The escape plan of prisoners came to light on February, 2013 when the authorities stumbled upon a 218-feet long tunnel inside barrack No 4 of Sabarmati Jail, where 14 of the 68 Ahmedabad serial blasts case accused were lodged.

The audit watchdog’s report also stated that Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMDs) installed at test-checked prisons across the state were also found to be ineffective.

“Out of five DFMDs at Sabarmati Central Prison in Ahmedabad, three were installed and two were installed at the new undertrial prison. During audit, one DFMD kept at entrance of Sabarmati Central Prison was found to be non-functional. At Vadodara Central Prison, four DFMDs were frequently not functioning since June 2010. Seven of the 10 new DFMDs installed at Surat District Prison did not serve any purpose as no security guard was posted at these points for monitoring of DFMDs,” the report said.