The Delhi Prisons Department has obtained 10 non-linear junction detectors from a US company to find hidden mobile phones and metal objects in jails. These detectors can even locate objects buried up to two feet deep in the ground or concrete. The department initially ordered two detectors in 2021 for a trial, which proved to be successful. As a result, they decided to purchase more devices from the US-based organization, Orion. Each device costs Rs 15 lakh and the department has spent Rs 1.5 crore on 10 detectors.
These devices were recently acquired and distributed in jails. The detectors are capable of detecting mobile phones, SIM cards, and metals through concrete and soil at a depth of one to two feet. The Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini jails in Delhi have a capacity of 10,026 inmates. However, there are currently 17,906 undertrial prisoners and 2,165 convicts housed in these three jails, making it crucial for authorities to prevent the use of mobile phones and inspect for improvised weapons to ensure inmate safety.
Following the brutal murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar jail on May 2, the Delhi Prisons Department issued a circular to remove “dangerous objects” from the wards that could be used by inmates to create improvised weapons. Tajpuriya was stabbed “92 times” with improvised weapons by four members of the rival Gogi gang, according to police.
