According to a top official, Gujarat police are conducting raids across 17 jails in the state to see if any illegal activities are taking place and to ensure that inmates are receiving the services to which they are entitled under the law.
As many as 1,700 police personnel, including officers, are involved in the operation that began Friday night, state Director General of Police (DGP) Vikas Sahay said.
The raids are being conducted in central jails in Ahmedabad, Surat, Vadodara, Rajkot and other cities as well in sub-jails, he told reporters on Friday night when the operation was underway.
“The purpose behind the raids is to find out if any illegal activities are taking place in the jails and to prevent them. Sniffer dogs have also been roped in this intense search operation,” Sahay said.
Another purpose of the operation is to find out whether the jail inmates are being provided facilities as per the rules properly, he said.
The officers involved in the operation wore body cameras, and the entire operation was live telecast from the state police control centre in Gandhinagar, which was attended by Minister of State for Home Harsh Sanghavi, DGP Sahay, and other senior officers.
“During the operation, the police talked to the inmates and jail officials,” Sahay said.
Some smartphones were recovered from jail barracks a few hours into the raids, he said, adding that more information about the raids will be shared later in the day after the operation concludes.
“Police officers wore body cameras to ensure transparency, and minister Sanghavi watched the live telecast of the raids at the state control room in Gandhinagar,” Sahay explained.
The Sabarmati jail in Ahmedabad, where the raid was carried out, houses an alleged gangster from Uttar Pradesh, Atiq Ahmed, as well as many convicts from the Ahmedabad serial blasts.