Notices to be served on telecom service providers and DoT

The Department of Prisons and Correctional Services is all set to issue show-cause notices to telecom service providers (TSPs) and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) seeking an explanation on how their networks are still available within the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex, despite installation of three Tower-Harmonious Call Blocking System (T-HCBS) to act as network jammers.

The Department of Prisons and Correctional Services is all set to issue show-cause notices to telecom service providers (TSPs) and the Department of Telecommunication (DoT) seeking an explanation on how their networks are still available within the Parappana Agrahara Central Prison Complex, despite installation of three Tower-Harmonious Call Blocking System (T-HCBS) to act as network jammers.

The gaps in the system were exposed recently when two rowdy sheeters were caught using mobile phones in the prison, sending out photos and doing video calls with jailed actor Darshan.

The new T-HCBS were installed in January this year, following directions from the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. TSPs like Bharat Sanchar Nigam Ltd (BSNL), Airtel, Vodafone Idea (VI), and Reliance Jio were asked to modulate their networks to ensure they are not available inside the prison area.

“On top of this, prison officials have conducted random checks for mobile networks every day and submitted reports that no networks were available inside the prison. But the fact that inmates have shared photographs from inside and made video calls shows that networks are available and this is a serious lapse,” said a letter written by Malini Krishnamurthy, DGP, Prisons and Correctional Services, who has been served a memo over the Darshan fiasco by the State government, to Chief Superintendent, Parappana Agrahara Central Prison. A copy of the letter is available with The Hindu. 

She has directed the Chief Superintendent, Parappana Agrahara Central Prison, to serve notices on BSNL, Airtel, VI, and Jio apart from DoT, as to how their mobile networks were still available within the prison area and submit a report with their reply by September 4.

Ironically, the T-HCBS installed at the central prison proved more costly for the residents in and around Parappana Agrahara than the inmates of the prison.

In June this year, residents around the prison took out a protest march complaining of mobile network disruptions, even affecting emergency calls. They even complained that they never got OTPs, crippling all commercial transactions. DoT and the Department of Prisons and Correctional Services held multiple meetings with the TSPs, directing them to tweak the HCBS frequency to minimise network disruptions outside the prison area.