Bhubaneswar: During a surprise raid, the authorities recovered six mobile phones including some other banned articles from the cells of Special Jail at Jharpada in the State Capital, Saturday afternoon.
“These articles were seized from the back side of dining hall and Ward No. 15, near Ward No. 1 and Segregation Ward,” a statement issued by the Odisha Prisons Headquarters later in the evening stated.
According to sources, five mobile phone chargers, five mobile phone batteries, four SIM cards and a pen-drive were also recovered by the jail authorities from the cells, along with 250 grams of cannabis.
Also read: Pradeep Maharathy’s brother Pranaya succumbs to Covid-19
The prohibited items were recovered during ongoing ‘Operation Clean Up’ which was earlier launched by the Odisha Prisons department. However, the drive is being carried out under the supervision of DG Prisons and Director of Correctional Services Santosh Upadhyay.
On the other hand, the cannabis like substance has been destroyed as per Rule 446(a) of the Odisha Model Jail Manual, 2020.
The jail authorities have lodged an FIR in this regard at Laxmisagar police station in Bhubaneswar. The seized articles have been handed over to the local police. The special search drive will be intensified further, in order to ensure that no use and availability of contraband articles are there inside the jail premises, a senior official said.
PNN