Thiruvananthapuram: The row over Facebook posts by the T.P. Chandrasekharan murder case accused from the prison assumed a different dimension on Thursday with DGP (Prison) Alexander Jacob raising suspicions that the fresh allegations were part of a deliberate attempt to tighten the case against the accused.
He also owned up responsibility for any lapses in jails.
Minutes after the jail DGP’s statements attacking the police came out, Home Minister Thiruvanchoor Radhakrishnan rebutted it and also sought an explanation from him after ‘firing’ him over phone.
Opposition leader V.S. Achuthanandan also demanded removal of Jacob.
However, Jacob got a soother from the Opposition camp as senior CPM leader and former Home Minister Kodiyeri Balakrishnan maintained that Jacob was one of the best prison heads the state ever had.
There are also reports that Jacob may be shifted from the post soon.
It was following media reports that the prison department had not initiated any action despite repeated intelligence warning on the special privileges enjoyed by the TPC murder accused in Kozhikode district jail that the DGP came out with a statement.
“As soon as I received direction from the Home Secretary on the matter in June, I ordered a probe by DIG-Prisons (North-zone) and some prison officials were even transferred,” Jacob told a section of media.
"So far, we have not received any evidence that the accused uploaded pictures from the prison premises. The verdict in the murder case is expected before December 30.
Hence it has to be suspected that there was a deliberate attempt to tighten the case and influence the judge against the accused if at all they escape murder charges,” he said.
He also justified TPC murder case accused and CPM leader P. Mohanan meeting his wife, CPM MLA K.K. Lathika, in a restaurant while being taken to court recently.
“All the prisoners have the right to meet their wives. Moreover, Mohanan was an acute diabetes patient over the last 35 years and hence he had to go to the restaurant to have some water,” he said.
This was rebutted by the Home Minister. Jacob also listed out the plight of the prison department, including the serious threats and attacks on prison officials from hardcore prisoners, insufficient strength and overcrowding in prisons.
“Over the last three days we are under continuous attack. This has demoralised the prison officials. Hence I am clarifying these points.
Until there is scientific evidence, I could not believe that the Facebook posts were made from the prison. We have also sought server details from Google as part of the probe,” said Jacob.
“If there are any lapses in the prison department I am solely responsible for it, not any officials of the Home Minister. The welfare activities in the prison, including chappathi making, had helped reform prisoners to a large extent,” he said.
He added that even in highly secured prisons like Tihar, mobile phones were seized from prison officials. There was also no ban on remand prisoners wearing Bermuda, he said.
The DGP also said that though steps like installation of surveillance cameras in prison cells were initiated, those were withdrawn following human right commission directives.
Next: Report confirms use of phone in jail
Report confirms use of phone in jail
Kozhikode: The five key accused in the TPC case lodged in the Kozhikode district jail as undertrial prisoners have used mobile phones in the jail.
This is the preliminary assessment of police and intelligence officials based on the data collected from the mobile tower near the jail premises, source said.
They were found using four mobile phones and the call data indicates that calls were made from the jail premises, sources said.
Jail DGP Alexander Jacob, however, told reporters in Thiruvananthapuram that he had not received any such reports. He also said that the location of the tower alone should not be taken as scientific evidence of the call being made from the jail as the tower covers an area of one sq km.
The five key accused, Kodi Suni, Kirmani Manoj, Annan Sijith, Mohmmad Shafi and T.K. Rejeesh, have been found using 11 SIM cards taken in the name of different persons to make calls.
Out of the 11 SIMS, the probe team identified four connections made in the names of Ahammad, a native of Aayancherry near Vatakara, Ajesh Panthakkal in Mahe, P.P. Fasial of New Mahe and Pratyush of Panniyur near Thalasserry, sources said.
They also reportedly held extensive talks with the witnesses and relatives of the witnesses in the case using the mobile phones.
Intelligence agencies found that Kirmani Manoj had been using mobile phone number 98475 62679 inside the jail, which he had been using before the killing of TPC.
The police and intelligence agencies are seeking the help of the cyber cell to collect the details of the conversation held by the accused.
The probe by cyber cell is also expected to throw light on the persons with whom they had talks, sources said. They were found talking regularly with some persons in Beypore, Nileswaram and Kollam.
