Location undecided, but officers not keen on Ahmedabad; say most media houses are here

The Gujarat government has given the go-ahead to the Police Department’s six-year-old proposal for yet another Joint Interrogation Centre (JIC) in the state. At present, there is only one JIC in the state, at Bhuj, and it faces problem of overcrowding.

Home Minister Amit Shah said: “As had been proposed by the state police’ intelligence department, we are planning to have a second JIC in Gujarat soon. The details of the proposal are under consideration.”

Gujarat remains vulnerable to cross-border infiltration along its 1,600-km-long coastline, which was exploited by the terrorists carrying out the Mumbai terror attacks last year.

Shah refused to divulge further details, but sources in the state police said that the proposal to have one more JIC in the state was first mooted in 2003. “Despite several amendments and reminders since then, it is for the first time that the state government has responded positively,” said an officer in the state intelligence department on condition of anonymity.

The JIC at Bhuj is almost perennially filled to more than twice its actual capacity, while the

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Gujarat may soon have one more Joint Interrogation Centre

new JIC is proposed to have state-of-the-art interrogation cells and capacity to house more than 200 foreigners detained for illegal stay in the country.

An official said: “The JIC at Bhuj is spread over an area of 100 square metres. It has 12 dormitories and a room for joint interrogation. Against its stipulated capacity of about 50 people, at present, 124 people are housed in the restriction centre.”

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