The Punjab and Haryana High Court has directed the administrations of Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh to submit a report by April 30 regarding the First Information Reports (FIRs) filed in cases involving calls made from prisons and mobile seizures.
During the hearing on Monday, the High Court sought answers on the statistics related to prisons from the Punjab government and other parties. The court questioned why there has been no reduction in calls made from prisons and whether there is still an ongoing racket of extortion and smuggling.
“Why are the figures not being made available? Whenever a case related to smuggling or extortion comes to light, it is often associated with Punjab and its prisons. Why is this happening only in Punjab’s prisons?” the court inquired.
The High Court pointed out that this directly indicates a lapse in security measures. Such incidents are not prevalent in Haryana. “Why doesn’t Punjab learn from Haryana on how to maintain prison security?” the court questioned.
The High Court has now ordered Haryana, Punjab, and Chandigarh to provide details in the next hearing on the number of cases involving the seizure of mobile phones in jails, actions taken in these cases, and the current status.
The High Court is currently hearing the case related to the interrogation of Lawrence Bishnoi. A Special Investigation Team (SIT) has been formed for the interviews conducted during Bishnoi’s detention.