A senior prison official has been arrested in Assam for allegedly breaching security. Radical Sikh preacher Amritpal Singh is being held for allegedly smuggling devices such as smartphones and spy camera pens into a high-security cell at Dibrugarh Central Jail. Since he was arrested last April.
Dibrugarh Additional Superintendent (Crime) Shizal Agarwal said on Friday that Dibrugarh Central Jail Superintendent Nipen Das had filed a complaint on Thursday under the stringent Anti-Terrorism Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, Assam Prisons Act and Section 120B of the Indian Penal Code. It was announced late that he had been arrested (criminal conspiracy).
Agarwal said the violation was noticed last month and Das was arrested after several raids. “This is a matter of national security…He is the warden of the prison. [Das] There has to be some responsibility,” Agarwal said.
Police say the prison has a multi-layered security system, including 24-hour surveillance cameras.
Assam Police Chief Gyanendra Pratap Singh said on February 17 that prison officials searched the cells and found a smartphone with SIM, a keypad phone, a TV remote control with keyboard, a spy camera pen, a pen drive, Bluetooth headphones, speakers, It was announced that the smartwatch had been confiscated. After visiting the prison on February 20 and meeting with senior officials, he ordered the transfer of some prison staff and an investigation.
Officials said Das was being questioned as more prison staff were detained for questioning on Friday morning. “This is a serious security issue and could lead to the arrest of more officials,” a source close to the investigation said.
Amritpal Singh was arrested in Lod, the ancestral village of Khalistan ideologue Jarnail Singh Bindraer, who was killed in April 2023, after a 37-day search. He was arrested under the National Security Act (NSA) and taken to Dibrugarh Jail in Assam.
His crackdown on Waris Punjabi earlier began after his supporters stormed a police station in Ajnara, near Amritsar, to secure the release of his arrested comrades.
Ten members of Waris Punjabi De, including Amrit Pal Singh, began a hunger strike on February 17, demanding relocation to their home state of Punjab. Three of them were later transferred to Assam Medical College Hospital, where their condition is said to be stable.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi stay updated with India News with latest news and top headlines from India and around the world.