Surprise inspection: 100 grams of ganja seized from cell in Ahmedabad’s Sabarmati Central Jail

© Provided by The Indian Express

After 1,700 police personnel were deployed across Gujarat on Friday to conduct surprise checks in district jails, sub-jails and special jails, police officials in Ahmedabad said that in a significant seizure, cannabis (ganja) weighing 100 grams was recovered from the cell of a convicted criminal

in Sabarmati Central Jail.

According to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP-Ahmedabad city) Neerajkumar Badgujar, the seizure was made from the cell of Akram Sheikh, a convict serving a sentence for looting. An FIR is being registered in connection with the seizure at Ranip police station under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act.

The ACP added that the search operation was conducted for 10 consecutive hours – from 9 pm on Friday until 7.30 am on Saturday – with cells and barracks double-checked by a team of 45 police officers and 100 police personnel. Badgujar said the most common contraband seized included tobacco and paan masala, while others included electric hot plates and utensils for making food.

Sabarmati Central Jail houses many high-profile convicts and undertrials including Uttar Pradesh gangster Atiq Ahmed, several convicted of serial blasts in Ahmedabad, TMC spokesperson Saket Gokhale and accused in the Mundra drug haul case. The ACP said “some tobacco” was seized from Atiq Ahmed’s cell. No contraband was found in the women’s barracks or from barracks where

the 2008 serial blast convicts are housed, he added.

The quantities seized have not been disclosed so far, with officials stating that they have submitted a report on the seizures to the home department. The ACP added that proceedings under the Prisons Act will be undertaken against those found to possess contraband.

In Vadodara Central Jail, about 100 policemen joined three units of scrutiny officers, according to city police officials. The prison currently houses convicts of the 2002 Sabarmati Express fire in Godhra.

The Gujarat DGP’s office said Saturday morning that it is collating data received from the inspections conducted at various jails and will issue details regarding the seizures once the process is completed.