By IANS,
Bhubaneswar : Orissa has ordered the removal of temples, mosques, places of worship and structures that were built in state jail premises illegally, officials said Wednesday.
The state has at least 90 jails and instructions have been sent by state Inspector General-prison V. Thiagarajan to the superintendents of all the jails last week. He has asked them to remove the structures by the middle of December.
“There are illegal structures within ten meters around the periphery of many jails which were supposed to be no-man zones. Similarly there are illegal structures inside some of the jails,” Thiagarajan told IANS.
“You can not have unauthorized structures. It is a security breach. The anti-social elements are taking advantage of it. That is why I have issued instructions to remove all of them,” he said.
Criminals use these structures for illegal activities, he said.
Citing an example, Thiagarajan said: “There are at least five to six unauthorized so- called temples and probably one so-called mosque which are located within the jail premises in state capital Bhubaneswar. Similar structures have been also found in many other jails.”