Jail ex-asst supdt booked for providing SIM card to inmate

Times News Network
Ludhiana: Division 7 police on Monday booked Ludhiana Central Jail former assistant superintendent for providing a SIM card to a prison inmate.
Besides the jail ex-official, Karanveer Singh, the case has been registered against undertrial Shubham Arora, 24, a youth Congress functionary from Central constituency, and his friend Ankush Arora, 24, of New Madhopuri.
Pradhuman Kumar, assistant superintendent of Ludhiana Central Jail, said in his police complaint, “Jail staffers had found a cellphone and a SIM card in the bathroom of barrack 5 during a checking in April. Thereafter, a report was sent to Division 7 police station for investigation.”
During probe, the police found that the SIM card was in the name of Dablu Kumar of New Shakti Nagar, Tibba Road. The cops rounded him up and during questioning, he revealed that he had given the SIM card to his friend, Ankush Arora, as he had misplaced his Aadhaar card.
Assistant commissioner of police (East) Devinder Chaudhary said, “During interrogation, Ankush told that Shubham had asked him to provide a new SIM card through assistant superintendent Karanveer Singh. In the second week of April, Ankush had handed over the card to Karanveer Singh near the jail complex. And the jail official gave it to the undertrial.”
“Dablu said Ankush fraudulently got the SIM card issued in his name as he was not aware that it was for a jail inmate. Therefore, a case has been registered under sections 420 (cheating), 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC and the Prison Act,” the ACP added.
The ACP said the assistant superintendent was recently transferred from Ludhiana Central Jail and he would be arrested soon.
Ludhiana jail superintendent Rajiv Arora could not be contacted despite repeated attempts.
Past incidents
October 13, 2019: Assistant superintendent Jaswinder Singh Randhawa, warden Surjeet Singh and head constable Ravinder Singh were suspended after three inmates were caught using a cellphone in a high- security block
October 14, 2019: Jail superintendent Rajiv Arora recovered cellphones from inmates Baljeet Singh, Rinku, Vikas and Manmeet Singh. Following the seizure, officials deployed on duty at the high-security cell were suspended
October 23, 2019: Jail warder Hardev Singh was suspended for carrying a cellphone inside the jail complex. When the security deployed at the complex tried to frisk him, the drunk warder created a ruckus and misbehaved with the staff