Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari, who is also the Home Minister, made a surprise visit to Presidency Correctional Home in Alipore on Tuesday. Adhikari did not disclose the reason for his visit.
During the visit, the Chief Minister inspected the infrastructure of the correctional home and interacted with inmates and jail authorities. He also visited the temple inside the premises and inspected the production centre run by inmates, where he checked the quality of the products being made.
The visit comes days after reports emerged of several mobile phones being recovered from the cell of history-sheeter Aftab Ansari at Presidency Correctional Home. Apart from the mobile phones, authorities recovered Rs 31,000 in cash, a mobile phone, routers, pen drives and other electronic devices from his cell. Ansari is charged as the mastermind behind the attack on the American Center in Kolkata in January 2002.
Following the seizure, jail authorities lodged a complaint with Hastings police station and a case was initiated. Investigators are now trying to ascertain whether Ansari was in contact with individuals outside the country.
Within one week of the new government taking oath in May, Presidency Correctional Home authorities conducted a surprise raid inside the cells and recovered 23 mobile phones. Following the recovery, Presidency Correctional Home Superintendent N Kujur and Chief Controller Dipto Gharai were suspended on May 15. During the period, Adhikari had also alleged that a section of jail officials could be involved in facilitating the entry of mobile phones and other devices into the premises.
