Surat: A surprise vigilance raid at Lajpore Central Jail uncovered 11 mobile phones, 10 SIM cards and three chargers hidden across prison barracks, reviving concerns over security lapses and the possibility of inmates operating criminal networks from inside the high-security facility. The recovery came after a search operation by local jail authorities.Officials said a local search team at Lajpore Central Jail first conducted inspections between 5pm and 6pm. During the exercise, three mobile phones were recovered from a toilet block. No sim cards were found. Jailor Jagdish Pathar then lodged a complaint at Sachin police station.Later, around 8.30pm, a vigilance squad from Ahmedabad led by jailor Devshi Karangiya carried out a surprise inspection on the instructions of senior officials. The team searched multiple barracks over nearly two hours.During the operation, officials seized 11 mobile phones, 10 sim cards and three chargers from various locations inside the prison.Investigators found devices wrapped in plastic bags and hidden beneath buckets in bathrooms. Some phones were discovered near washbasins while charging. Others were concealed behind toilet doors and under plastic containers. In one instance, a switched-on mobile phone was allegedly recovered from the right pocket of an undertrial prisoner during a personal search.Following the raid, another complaint was lodged at Sachin police station.Officials said the seized devices would be sent to the Forensic Science Laboratory for data extraction and analysis. Investigators will examine whether the phones were used to coordinate criminal activities from inside the jail.The seizures renewed scrutiny of security arrangements at the prison. Authorities are investigating how the phones entered the facility and whether there was any negligence or complicity in the screening process.Fears were also revived of jailed gangsters running networks linked to high-profile killings, including the Satish Maratha and BJP youth leader Jay Dalal cases.In the past, raids by police teams from outside revealed a nexus between jail staff and prisoners for arrangements to take mobile phones inside the jail.
