Rajasthan police seize phones, shift dons to other jails

The scale is impressive. More than 10,330 intensive searches were conducted in Rajasthan under Operation Flush Out in which 185 mobile phones, 83 SIM cards, 33 chargers, 23 earphones, 19 data cables, opium, charas, tobacco, bidi and cigarettes and other prohibited material were seized from jail-birds, according to DG Prisons Rajeev Dasot.

Dasot told IANS that as many as 68 notorious dons, including the top 10 criminals of the state and prisoners using prohibited material, were transferred to other jails for the purpose of breaking their networks.

Dreaded criminal Lawrence Bishnoi, who threatened Bollywood star Salman Khan from jail premises, for instance, was shifted from Bharatpur prison to the Ajmer Jail.

Also Papla Gujjar, who escaped from Behror, was shunted to Ajmer jail from Kishangarhbas. Gujjar had escaped from Behror police station on September 6, 2019, after his aides opened fire with an AK-47 gun at the policemen on duty. He was subsequently arrested on January 27 where he was hiding in his girlfriend's home at Kolhapur.

"With this operation, we've sent out a strong message of zero-tolerance against connivance, corruption and criminal activities in jail and breaking the criminal nexus inside Rajasthan's jails," Dasot told IANS.

Operation Flush out was launched across 144 jails throughout the desert state in November 21 last year under the directions of Dasot in which around 150 jail employees were rewarded while disciplinary action was taken against 200 staff members for conniving with criminals.

"We were receiving tip-offs that criminals were conducting their activities right from the jail premises. This was a major challenge addressing which was the first priority for us.

"We were informed that prisoners sitting in their comfort zones in the prison were conducting mafia operations in connivance with our own staff. They either entered the jail by hiding phones, or else our staff gave them phones. Keeping this in mind, we started Operation Flush Out," recalled Dasot.

The operation started on November 21 last year with a high-level search operation to stop criminal activities operated by jailed criminals.

Notably, disciplinary proceedings were carried out against 99 officers and 25 officers who were supporting such criminal activities at the jail level and outside the network were found guilty.

Additionally, 54 officers were transferred the basis of suspicious complaints. On the other side, about 145 honest officer were also awarded for their honesty and rendering the best service under the Operation Flush Out. CM Ashok Gehlot has closely observed this operation and appreciated the efforts of department, hoping this will will help control crime in the state.

The campaign has been extended till March 31, 2021, informed Dasot.