LUCKNOW: As cases of cell phone use continue to be reported in prisons, Electronics Corporation of India Limited (ECIL) was asked to install 4G jammer in UP prisons.
While jammers are installed in prison buildings in 75 counties across the state, they cannot block the 4G network, allowing inmates to run their criminal syndicates using 4G-enabled phones.
These jammers were installed a few decades ago and successfully block second generation (2G) and third generation (3G) networks, but cannot restrict fourth generation (4G) communications, making it difficult for the prison department to monitor prisoners’ activities .
Aware of the loophole, prisoners take advantage of blackouts and communicate with their aides to order Supari extortion, robbery, and even killings, as jammers will not resume operation until power is restored.
Prison Department Inspector General Pramod Kumar Mishra said ECIL will install solar-powered 4G jammers in 24 prisons across the state, including five central prisons in Naini (Allahabad), Varanasi, Fatehgarh, Bareilly and Agra.