By IANS
Ranchi : After Maoist assaults on jails in Bihar and Chhattisgarh, authorities in Jharkhand fear that the leftist guerrillas may attack prisons in the state to free their comrades.
“Even intelligence reports suggest that Maoists are planning to attack jails in Gumla, Garwah, Daltonganj and Chatra to free their men. More than 300 Maoist rebels are lodged in Daltonganj jail alone,” said a senior state jail department official.
Jailbreaks in Dantewada of Chhattisgarh and Jehanabad of Bihar have emboldened the Maoist rebels to free their men from prisons everywhere.
In the past the state intelligence department had warned of the Maoist plans but security was never beefed up, the official said.
Jharkhand has 26 jails, including two central jails, which are as prone to Maoist attacks as any state prison. Nearly 19,000 prisoners, including 886 Maoist rebels, are in the jails. Of the jailed Maoists about 30 are hardened rebels, the police say.
According to top jail officials, 700 security personnel have been posted in different jails against the sanctioned strength of 1,500.
“We have requested the state home department to allow the jail administration to appoint retired army personnel for their security. The state home department is yet to act on the request,” said an official.
“What is most worrying is that the Maoist rebels remain in touch with their colleagues operating from jungles through messengers,” he said.
In at least eight jail raids in 2007, security personnel had recovered TV sets, mobile phones, knives and other equipment from the Maoist rebels.
Birsa Munda Central Jail of Ranchi is a classic example of the vulnerability of the prisons in the state.
This central jail has been shifted to the outskirts of Ranchi without increasing the strength of the security personnel. Here more than 120 Maoist rebels are lodged.
There are neither close circuit cameras nor mobile jammers here.
“This jail is situated on the outskirts and here any day Maoist rebels can strike. We would be mere sitting ducks,” said an official of the jail.
Of the 26 jails in Jharkhand, 10 have been identified as most sensitive including Ranchi, Hazaribagh, Chatra, Garwah, Daltonganj, Koderma, Gumla, Lohardagga and Simdega besides Chas jail of Bokaro.