Mobile phones, cash seized during raid in Bihar jails

Mobile phones, SIM cards and cash were seized during raids conducted at different jails of Bihar on Sunday, a Home (Prisons) Department release said.

The raids were carried out on Sunday in central, divisional and sub-divisional jails in all the districts of the state on the directive of Home Department.

A total of 23 mobile phones, 16 mobile chargers, 11 SIM cards, khaini, chunauti (small metal box to keep khaini) and Rs 6,385 in cash were seized during the operation, the release said.

The raids were conducted in all the jails of the state in the wake of a killing of an under-trial prisoner by another inmate in Hajipur jail of Vaishali district on January 3.

The jails from where these items were recovered are - Muzaffarpur, Motihari (central jails), Sitamarhi, Hajipur, Nawada, Sheohar, Saharsa, Jehanabad (divisional jails) and Barh, (sub-divisional jail), it said, adding that cash of Rs 6,385 was seized from Hajipur divisional jail.

The objective behind carrying out simultaneous and sudden raids in all the jails of the state is to check whether there are banned items in jails besides reviewing the safety and security of jails and also to check the relevance of those (inmates) kept at jail hospitals, the release said.

Disciplinary action will be taken against guilty jail officials for their lapses that led to entry of the items, the official said, adding, FIRs have been lodged against the prisoners from whose possession the banned articles were seized.