Amid COVID surge, Rajasthan prisoners refrained from meeting kin till April 19

Amid a surge in the COVID-19 cases in the state, prisoners in jails across Rajasthan have been refrained from meeting their families in person till April 19 but will continue to stay in touch with them through monitored phone call and video conferencing.

Speaking to , Director General, Prisons, Rajasthan, Rajeev Dasot said, "Recently the state government has issued various COVID guidelines amid a surge in the number of cases. Since reports of prisoners testing COVID positive in a few jails have come to light and taking into consideration the health of the prison inmates, the jail administration has decided that till April 19, the prisoners have been refrained from meeting their families in person in all the jails across the state but they will be able to stay in touch with their kin through monitored five-minute phone call and video conferencing."

According to the union health ministry, Rajasthan is among the 12 states displaying an upward trajectory in daily new COVID-19 cases. It further said that the state reported 2,429 new cases today.

Responding to a question on the escape of 16 prisoners from Phalodi jail in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Monday night, Basot said that they have committed the biggest mistake of their lives and will face stringent legal and administrative action. He further said that four jail staff have been suspended for negligent behavior and a search is on to nab them.

"Yesterday evening, 16 prisoners escaped from Phalodi sub-jail and we have taken up the incident on a very serious note. A preliminary inquiry was ordered immediately after the incident and DIG of Rajasthan Prisons, Surendra Singh Shekhawat reached Phalodi and started the inquiry yesterday night. During the inquiry, prima facie four jail staff whose behavior was found to be negligent were suspended today," said Dasot.

He further said, "The state government and the jail administration will not tolerate such incidents at any cost. These prisoners have made the biggest mistake of their life because ultimately they will be caught and once there are taken into custody, stringent legal and administrative action will be taken against them. We have already filed an FIR in connection with the incident in the Phalodo police station. A search is on to nab them all."

16 prisoners escaped from Phalodi jail in Rajasthan's Jodhpur district on Monday night by putting chili powder in the prison staff's eyes. The prisoners then escaped in a Scorpio that was parked outside the prison premises.

Answering another query on Operation Flush Out, Dasot stated that the operation helped in checking the menace of operating mobile phones from the prison which was becoming a hub of criminal activities. Under this operation around 150 mobile phones were recovered from the jail inmates.

"Jail authorities are now breathing a sigh of relief as criminal activities reported from the prisons have become negligible. Dons and other hardcore prisoners have also been death with. As many as 70 such prisoners were transferred to high-security jails," added Dasot.

Operation Flush out was launched across 144 jails throughout the desert state on November 21 last year under the directions of Dasot, in which around 150 jail employees were rewarded while disciplinary action was taken against 200 staff members for conniving with criminals.

The operation started last year with a high-level search operation to stop criminal activities operated by jailed criminals.

Notably, disciplinary proceedings were carried out against 99 officers, and 25 officers who were supporting such criminal activities at the jail level and outside the network were found guilty.

Additionally, 54 officers were transferred on the basis of suspicious complaints. On the other side, about 145 honest officers were also awarded for their honesty and rendering the best service under Operation Flush Out.

( With inputs from ANI )