NEW DELHI: The Delhi Prisons Department has acquired 10 non-linear junction detectors from a US-based firm to detect mobile phones and concealed metal objects within prisons. These detectors are capable of detecting objects buried up to two feet deep in the ground or concrete, according to officials.
“We ordered two non-linear junction detectors in 2021 and conducted trials with them. The results were very satisfactory, prompting the department to procure more devices from the US-based organization Orion,” said a senior jail official.
Each device carries a price tag of Rs 15 lakh, and the department has allocated Rs 1.5 crore for the purchase of 10 such devices. These devices have been recently acquired and distributed across various jails.
The devices have the capability to detect mobile phones, SIM cards, and metals through concrete and soil at depths ranging from one to two feet. In Delhi’s jails, such as Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini, there is an official capacity for 10,026 inmates. However, there are currently 17,906 undertrial prisoners and 2,165 convicts incarcerated in these facilities, according to the official.
Given the high number of inmates, it is crucial for authorities to prevent the use of mobile phones within jails and inspect for improvised weapons to ensure inmate safety, the official noted.
After the brutal murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar jail on May 2, the Delhi Prisons Department issued a circular instructing the removal of “dangerous objects” from the wards that could be used by inmates to fashion improvised weapons. Tajpuriya was allegedly stabbed “92 times” with “improvised weapons” by four members of the rival Gogi gang, as reported by the police.
“We ordered two non-linear junction detectors in 2021 and conducted trials with them. The results were very satisfactory, prompting the department to procure more devices from the US-based organization Orion,” said a senior jail official.
Each device carries a price tag of Rs 15 lakh, and the department has allocated Rs 1.5 crore for the purchase of 10 such devices. These devices have been recently acquired and distributed across various jails.
The devices have the capability to detect mobile phones, SIM cards, and metals through concrete and soil at depths ranging from one to two feet. In Delhi’s jails, such as Tihar, Mandoli, and Rohini, there is an official capacity for 10,026 inmates. However, there are currently 17,906 undertrial prisoners and 2,165 convicts incarcerated in these facilities, according to the official.
Given the high number of inmates, it is crucial for authorities to prevent the use of mobile phones within jails and inspect for improvised weapons to ensure inmate safety, the official noted.
After the brutal murder of gangster Tillu Tajpuriya inside Tihar jail on May 2, the Delhi Prisons Department issued a circular instructing the removal of “dangerous objects” from the wards that could be used by inmates to fashion improvised weapons. Tajpuriya was allegedly stabbed “92 times” with “improvised weapons” by four members of the rival Gogi gang, as reported by the police.
