BANGALORE: The State Government’s decision to call for tenders to install mobile phone jammers in Parappana Agrahara Central Prison has irked jail officials.The officials said that the decision to call for tenders will delay the installation of jammers for another year.This leaves the officials in a lurch as they have no other way of controlling mobile phone menace in the jail unless jammers are installed.The prison authorities had sent a letter to the Home Secretariat of Union Government seeking permission to install jammers in the jail.According to the rules, the jammers should be installed by Public Sector Units (PSU) like Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), as such companies are listed by the Government of India. The jail authorities are waiting for the nod from the Central authority concerned.Sources said that if the permission to install jammers is given, then other technical problems arises because of the State Government’s decision to not give the project to PSUs but to call for tenders. This will lead to a delay in the instalment of jammers in the jail and the mobile menace in the jail will continue, an officer said.“There are many instances of mobile phone misuses and recently the police have seized many mobile phones from Dharawad jail,” he added.Prison Additional Director General and Inspector General (ADGP and IGP) Kuchchanna Sreenivasan had sent a proposal to the Government to install jammers (with the capacity to block 3G network) and had asked for permission to use `4.5 crore of the budgetary allocation.The government gave its approval but was confused about whether to go with PSU BEL as per ADGP&IGPs proposal or call for tenders for jammers.Express had exposed that frequent telephone calls were being made to Pakistan from Parappana Agrahara, where many terror accused are under judicial custody. The government then decided to call for tenders to install jammers in the jail.An officer said after the TNIE report, they decided not give the project to BEL.
Comments
0 comment