Sniffer dogs to be used to check for smuggled drugs in Maharashtra jails

The Superintendent of Arthur Road Jail has written a letter to the concerned departments of the Mumbai police seeking a dog squad for checks. Representation pic

The ADG, state prisons, Atulchandra Kulkarni has ordered the superintendents of all district jails to check for drugs or banned items in jails with the help of dog squads of the local police. The Superintendent of Arthur Road Jail has written a letter to the concerned departments of the Mumbai police in this regard, seeking a dog squad for this check. The letter also seeks a regular anti-sabotage search in the jail with the help of the dogs.

According to a source at the jail, every accused coming to the jail is screened, yet if one takes a banned item inside, it will be traced with the help of sniffer dogs. According to the source, the accused can smuggle in drugs or gunpowders. In jail, if an accused does not get along with another accused, he/she can even hide a blade or carry a small weapon inside. Arthur Road Jail has a capacity of 800 accused but 3,500 have been kept there, out of which hundreds are taken for court appearance every day. They are screened when being taken from jail to court and then brought back.

A jail official told mid-day, "If a banned item is found with a prisoner in such a search, action will be taken against him by registering a case at the local police station." IG Ankush Shinde said, "If drugs or any prohibited items are brought to the jail, the people bringing them will be caught with the help of the dog squad." Senior police officials from the Mumbai police force however, claimed that they have not yet received any letter from the Arthur Road Jail.