In a bid to stop incarcerated convicts from communicating with their cohorts outside using sneaked-in mobile phones, the prisons authority has asked the telecom regulator to ensure that all jails are kept out of mobile network coverage.
A letter on this regard, signed by Inspector General of Prisons Brig Gen Sayed Iftekhar Uddin, reached the Bangladesh Telecommunication Regulatory Commission (BTRC) office on September 25, while a copy has also been sent to the Home Ministry, sources said.
In the letter, the Department of Prisons said they wanted the country’s 37 jails – which currently holds around 67,000 prisoners – to be out of mobile network coverage for security concerns.
The letter also read that the jail authorities had learnt from media reports that some prisoners were frequently using mobile devices inside the prison walls.
Currently, devices called mobile network jammers are used around the jail areas to block mobile service inside the jail premises; but prisoners use different devices to communicate with the outside as the enforcement of the jammers is often reportedly ignored.
Sources also said the recently introduced 3G services have also enabled prisoners to use the internet to chat or video chat with their relatives or their cohorts, using the smartphones that they sneak in inside the jail walls.
Asked about the latest initiative, Brig Gen Sayed Iftekhar Uddin said the decision to bar network coverage within jail premises was made at a meeting with BTRC officials.
“The decision was made after allegations by the jail authorities that mobile phones were being used inside jails. However, such incidents were found to be taking place in front of jail gates or near the jail area or sometimes when the criminal went to court on any scheduled date,” he said.
The prisons authority had always known about such communication taking place, but had only recently taken a decision to ensure foolproof security about telecommunication, he added.
Asked about the technical feasibility of the recommendation, the chief technical officer of a leading mobile operator in the country said they would take only the measures that the government would ask them to take.
Although it was not tough to take out some selected areas out of network coverage, such a move might affect the neighbouring areas as well, the official told the Dhaka Tribune on condition of anonymity.
The latest allegation of mobile phone communication taking place within the confines of the jail rose following arrest of seven Jamaat’ul-Mujahideen Bangladesh (JMB) operatives from Ashulia Landing Station last week. During interrogation, the arrestees confessed that they carried out activities based on instructions that came from their chief Saidur Rahman – who is currently incarcerated at Kashimpur Jail.
Members of the Detective Branch of police suspect that the JMB leader might have communicated with the outsiders through phone calls or by passing on messages to their visitors or while going to attend court hearings.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of DB police, told the Dhaka Tribune that different previous investigations had already revealed that criminals often used mobile phones inside jails to communicate with the outside world, despite the network jammers operating inside the prisons.
Earlier in July, as per the directives of the Prime Minister’s Office, the home minister asked the prisons authority to reshuffle 366 staff including some jail superintendents of 37 jails, based on an intelligence report that found claims of irregularities against the officials to be true.
Allegations against them included leaking jail information, helping top criminals and militant leaders to make different plans by corresponding with one another, and allowing jailed convicts to speak on mobile phones.
On March 24 this year, authorities at Kashimpur high-security prison recovered a colour television, two mobile phones, a number of SIM cards and memory cards from the prison cell of notorious criminal Sweden Aslam. Three more mobile phones were also recovered from the prison cells of criminals Mamun and Anowar.
Following the sensational snatching of JMB members from police custody in February, investigators also found that all the fugitive JMB leaders were using mobile phones inside jail to communicate with their cohorts on the outside.
They reportedly sneaked in the phones inside their body cavities, while unscrupulous officials also allegedly allowed the phones to enter the jail hidden inside tiffin carriers.
According to a special report submitted by DB police, incarcerated convict Roni spoke on the phone for over 40 hours between July 30 and September 26 of 2011. On most occasions, he gave instructions to his associates about extortion, while he also called up several police officials in the capital asking them to release his cohorts from custody.
