Jamshedpur: Security has been tightened at Ghaghidih Central Jail after gangster Akhilesh Singh (39) and wife Garima moved in there after their two-day police remand ended on Sunday.
Jail superintendent Satyendra Kumar Chaudhury said, "All the guards, numbering more than 120, have been asked to remain extra alert. We have told them to thoroughly frisk visitors who come to meet Akhilesh as they might try to smuggle in cell phones, chargers and SIM cards into the jail," said Chaudhury while talking to The Telegraph.
Chaudhury said all 24 CCTV cameras installed inside the prison have been checked to ensure that there are no blind spots.
In March 2009, Paramjeet Singh, an arch rival of Akhilesh, was shot dead inside the jail prompting his supporters to lynch the shooter. Following the incident, the district administration sent several key associates of Akhilesh to other jails across the state.
The gangster, wanted in over 50 cases of murder and extortion and carrying a reward of Rs 5 lakh on his head, was arrested by Jharkhand and Haryana police following an encounter at a Gurgaon guesthouse on October 12.
"With Akhilesh returning to the central jail, the ambience will definitely get vicious. We have to ensure that no clashes take place between members of Akhilesh's group and his rival camp. We have to also prevent the gangster from making communication with the outside world from jail," said the senior prison official.
Birsanagar OC Upendra Narayan Singh said Akhilesh and Garima were sent to the central jail under tight security.
"The police remand was in connection with a probe in a forgery case registered with Birsanagar thana. The gangster will be produced before the civil court again on December 1 in connection with transporter Upendra Singh's murder," Singh said.
A senior police officer said Akhilesh would not be shifted to any other jail although several of his close associates such as Kanhaiya Singh and Sudhir Dubey were taken to Hazaribagh Central Jail recently. His elder brother, Amlesh, is also lodged in Ghaghidih jail.
