Searches were conducted Sunday at Central prisons in Tamil Nadu, days after photos of prisoners of Puzhal jail at Chennai using smartphones and enjoying the choicest food went viral.
The searches were carried out in Coimbatore, Salem and Cuddalore jails by special teams of jail and police personnel for several hours beginning this morning, officials said.
The teams wanted to ascertain if banned items like smartphones and cigarettes had been smuggled into the prisons, they said.
Law Minister C Ve Shanmugam said steps were being taken to prevent smuggling of mobile phones into the prisons.
A senior official said searches at Chennai Puzhal Central jail concluded days ago following which 18 televisions were removed from A-class cells and five prisoners shifted to other jails at Palayamkottai, Salem, Tiruchirappalli and Coimbatore.
Though televisions are allowed for A-class cells, they were removed 'as of now' to prevent its misuse to charge mobile phones, officials said.
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"We are looking at effective ways and means to prevent misuse of TVs to charge mobile phones. TVs are allowed as per the jail manual," a senior official told PTI.
After photos of prisoners at the Puzhal Central Jail using smartphones and enjoying choicest food items went viral, authorities had launched a probe.
The photos were retrieved from a mobile phone seized from a prisoner during a search at Puzhal Central Jail in which six other handsets were seized on September 3.
The images found in the mobile showed prisoners taking 'selfies' with other inmates, sporting sunglasses and wearing branded shoes.
One prisoner was seen standing with a badminton racquet an another reclining on a cot in a cosy looking cell with a television.
The prisoners in the photographs were mostly narcotic offenders and had easy access to items like induction stoves and juicers.