Kolkata, 01 September (H.S.): West Bengal Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari made a surprise visit to Presidency Correctional Home on Tuesday after an iPhone, smartphones, a router and other electronic communication devices were recovered from the cell of Aftab Ansari, the convict in the US Information Centre attack case.

The Chief Minister reached the correctional home at around 2:15 p.m. Soon after arriving, he paid his respects at the statue of Rishi Aurobindo and inspected the cell where Aurobindo had once been imprisoned.

Adhikari later interacted with inmates from outside a ward and enquired about the facilities available to them as well as their problems.

He also inspected the inmates’ workshop inside the correctional home, where prisoners manufacture various items, including garments. The Chief Minister also offered prayers at the temple located within the correctional home premises.

The surprise visit came at a time when several smartphones, an iPhone, a router, pen drives, cash and other advanced communication devices were recovered from the cell of Aftab Ansari, who is serving a sentence in connection with the attack on the US Information Centre.

The recovery has raised serious questions over the security arrangements inside the correctional home and how such prohibited items managed to reach Ansari’s cell.

The investigation into the matter was handed over to the Kolkata Police Special Task Force (STF) on Monday. Investigators are focusing on how the iPhone, router, pen drives and other banned items entered the jail and reached Ansari’s cell.

Questions have also been raised over the possible involvement of jail personnel or officials in facilitating the entry of prohibited items.

Earlier, Chief Minister Shubhendu Adhikari had warned about the alleged nexus between some jail employees and criminals. On May 16, he had taken a strict stand against the alleged links between certain personnel of the correctional department and criminals and had spoken of dismantling the “nests” operating inside jails.

Following this, a search operation was conducted at Presidency Jail, during which 23 mobile phones were recovered. Two jail officials were also suspended as part of the action.

Since then, the correctional administration has been conducting regular search operations across jails to prevent mobile phones, narcotics and other prohibited materials from being smuggled inside.

Against this backdrop, the recovery of sophisticated communication devices from Ansari’s cell, followed soon after by the Chief Minister’s surprise inspection, is being seen as a strong message from the government.

The government has made it clear that any potential criminal networks and prohibited activities being operated from within correctional facilities will be dealt with firmly.

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Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh