The items recovered during Tuesday’s raid. Picture by Sanjib Mukherjee

Bhubaneswar, May 27: In an early morning raid on Jharpada special jail, the Bhubaneswar police seized six mobile phones, a couple of sharp weapons, drugs and a large number of pornographic CDs. A CD player was also seized from the prison.

Before the inmates woke up, police vans carrying five platoons of personnel came to a halt in front of the prison.

Led by deputy commissioner of police Himanshu Lal, sub-collector Dilip Routray and inspectors-in-charge of most of the police stations in the capital entered the prison.

The jailbirds were woken up and an exhaustive search was conducted for three hours. Investigations into the complaints made by Leslie Tripathy and Bidusmita Mantri revealed that all the calls and SMSes made to them were from Laxminagar tower —in the same area where the Jharpada jail is located.

“Some of the stuff were buried deep in the ground, while some were high up on trees. Others were hid under large stones,” an officer present in the raiding team said.

The cellphones were moslty found close to the cells of high-profile criminals, he added.

Jailer Ajit Routray was suspended after the raid for negligence of duty, said inspector-general (prisons) V. Thyagarajan.

“We are waiting for a detailed report. Once we get it, we will initiate action against the in charges,” he added.

Sources said that the IG (prisons) would look into the lapses and would conduct a probe.

“After receiving Leslie and Bidusmita’s complaints we tracked the calls and found them to be coming from the jail area. We have seized cellphones, weapons, drugs and CDs. Raids may be conducted again. Stern action would be taken against those guilty,” said Lal.

The recovery of cellphones and the other items during the raid has once again hinted at a nexus between jail staff and criminals.

Actress Leslie Tripathy praised the police for their action, however, she conceded that her problems were far from over.

“I’m feeling better. When I informed DCP Lal that I had received SMSes and calls from Raja Acharya, none believed me. But, today my trust on Orissa police has grown stronger,” she said.