Mobile phones, pen drives, sharp-edged weapons, other illegal items seized

Major search ops in KB Jail
Deep Freezers, LPG cylinders found in barracks

Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, Jan 20: Police, Special Operations Group (SOG) and Kot Bhalwal Jail authorities today conducted one of the biggest search operations inside the jail premises and recovered two mobile telephones, five pen drives, sharp edged weapons, LPG cylinders, Deep Freezers and several other incriminating items from barracks of the militants inside the high security jail, which housed number of Pakistani and Kashmiri militants.
Police sources told the Excelsior that police and SOG personnel besides the Jail authorities had been monitoring use of some mobile telephones from inside the Kot Bhalwal jail for past some time and were maintaining surveillance. After developing credible inputs about use of mobiles and other illegal activities, joint teams of Jammu Police, SOG Jammu and Kot Bhalwal Jail authorities launched massive joint search operation in the jail premises in wee hours of this morning.
Sources confirmed that during searches, two mobile telephones, five pen drives, sharp-edged weapons including knives and scissors, iron made rods and other such equipments were seized from inside barracks of Kashmiri militants and other criminals.
Much to the surprise of police personnel, LPG cylinders and stoves, Deep Freezers, electric heaters and other cooking material was also recovered from some of the barracks, which had virtually been converted into mess by the militants and prisoners, lodged in the jail.
“In the high security jail, the recovery of two mobile telephones, five pen drives and sharp-edged weapons is a serious issue and will be inquired into,” sources said, adding that SIM cards couldn’t be recovered as they might have been hidden or thrown away by the users as soon as searches started in the jail this morning.
The mobile telephones and pen drives would be examined by the cyber experts to extract data from them to examine purpose for which they were being used and as to whether the militants were in touch with their colleagues outside the jail with the help of mobile telephones.
“Recovery of data will take some time,” sources said.
They added that the militants and other prisoners lodged inside the Kot Bhalwal jail had managed to convert some of the utensils into sharp-edged knifes, scissors and rods.
“They could have been used for any purpose,” sources said, adding though the militants claimed that knives etc were being used for cooking meal, they could have been used for any purpose any time as they were sharp enough to execute any kind of undesirable activities.
Police authorities have prepared detailed inventory of seizure made from inside Kot Bhalwal jail during the day today and handed it over to the Jail authorities. According to sources, the `illegal activities” might had been going on inside the jail premises for the past quite some time and the present authorities had also sounded police and wanted an extensive search operation to be carried out to detect all illegal material inside the barracks and seize it for maintenance of order in the high-security jail, where nearly 560 prisoners were lodged including Pakistani and Kashmiri militants.
Sources said further investigations by police, SOG and jail authorities would unravel whether outside militants were in touch with their colleagues inside the Kot Bhalwal jail through mobile telephones or not and what kind of data was being smuggled outside using pen drives.
The operation was led by SSP Jammu Tejinder Singh, SP Rural Jammu Dushyant Sharma, SP Special Operations Group (SOG) Jammu Sandeep Mehta and Superintendent Kot Bhalwal Jail Rajni Sehgal among others. A total of 300 police and jail personnel were involved in the searches, sources said.