In a bid to put a fullstop on cellphone use in jails, the Gujarat government has decided to equip all prominent prisons in the state with sophisticated mobile phone detectors that will digitally track down hidden phones.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Balwant Singh said while the Sabarmati and Vadodara Central jails have already been sanctioned these hand-held detectors, a plan is afoot to have them in other state jails soon.

A tracking instrument sounds an alarm when it detects a mobile phone in use in its vicinity.

Compact and lightweight, these detectors can be easily carried to various locations in the jail campus, like barracks, industrial units and other places where inmates generally hide their mobile phones.

It can also be set up at strategic locations.

A mobile phone detector, according to experts, has adjustable detection range of more than 50 metres and can also detect phones that are on standby mode (i.e., when the mobile phone is on, but not in use).

Senior officials said a total of 15 detectors have been sanctioned for different jails in the state. Of this, four are for the Sabarmati Central Jail in Ahmedabad.

“We have received the detectors for the Sabarmati jail and are presently conducting training sessions for security personnel, who will be using this equipment during routine patrol,” said V V Rabari, ADGP of prisons.

Use of mobile phone (a prohibited item) by inmates in Gujarat jails has been an issue of concern for the authorities and regular raids are conducted to check this.

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