prisons in the state have been witnessing a sizeable increase in the number of cases of smuggling using body cavities, primarily the rectum area. File photo
Jail authorities managing high-security prisons in Punjab are confronted with an uncanny situation — security checks now include ‘keeping a tab on the rectum of an inmate’.
Reason: prisons in the state have been witnessing a sizeable increase in the number of cases of smuggling using body cavities, primarily the rectum area.
Mobile phones and drugs have been recovered, leaving authorities astounded, who are apprehensive about the possibility of infections in the body.
One inmate reportedly died last year due to an infection caused by cigarettes and tobacco that he had stuffed inside his rectum.
According to sources, in the past two years, there have been nearly 400 cases where mobile phones and narcotics were seized from the rectum area.
This year alone, nearly 20 mobile phones have been recovered by the jail staff during such checks. There are chances of the device bursting or its battery leaking inside the body, leading to medical complications.
Such cases were less than half prior to 2015. Punjab jails do not have body scanners, which has compounded the problem. Much of the drill has to be carried out manually in the presence of the security staff. Authorities even take the assistance of sniffer dogs to help in the body searches.