Forget airports, Karnataka jails to get body scanners

To prevent smuggling of banned substances, weapons and mobile phones inside the jail premises, the prison department will install full body scanners at all major jails in the state including Parappana Agrahara Central Jail. The budget has allocated Rs10 crore to the prison department for this.

Additional director general of police (prisons) KV Gagandeep said the committee would work out how the allocation could be used for the modernisation of prisons based on the funds earmarked.

Body scanners can check whether inmates as well as people entering and exiting prisons are smuggling prohibited items such as narcotics, cell phones and weapons. “We’ve already installed baggage scanners at some jails. But body scanners will be installed for the first time in Karnataka,” Gagandeep said.

The police had come across several instances where jail birds, using cell phones, directed their gang members to commit crimes in far-off places.

Exposing chinks in jail security, 1,317 packs of ganja,73 bottles of liquor, 747 mobile phones and 117 mobile chargers were found at the Bangalore central jail three years ago. A senior police officer said that such illegal activities could be avoided if body scanners were installed at jails. The prison department decided to install body scanners after repeated requests from police officials.

Gagandeep said besides body scanners, CCTV cameras, mobile network jammers and baggage scanners could be installed by using the proposed funds.