from behind the bars with consummate ease with the help of corrupt officials.
Both these instances prove that not only prison officials but also some members of the police force are hand in glove with the criminals. As for Raja Acharya, the prime accused in coach Biranchi Das murder case now lodged in the Jharpada jail, the use of mobile phones by him inside jail has been one of the worst kept secrets. He was freely using cell phones even when he was housed in the Baripada jail. From there he not only used to send love and threat messages to actress Leslie Tripathy but was also making extortion calls to businessmen in different parts of the state.
There were also a few complaints against his prison-based extortion racket but police either made no efforts to discipline him or its half hearted attempts failed. All this only emboldened him further.
The existence of mobile phones inside jails was discovered perhaps for the first time during a raid on Chowdwar Circle jail a few years ago. Along with mobiles phone sets police also found some weapons inside the premises. Though police and the prison administration claim to have taken preventive and precautionary measures in the wake of that raid, things continued to deteriorate.
A jail term is supposed to serve as a deterrent against crime but today jails have become a safe haven for criminals, especially those who are facing the threat of being eliminated by rivals out of prison. For them prison is a much better sanctuary than even hospitals which many of the criminals prefer and manage by influencing officials in various ways. Inside the jails, armed with mobile phones and with the luxury of drugs and porn CDs, they are not jail birds but free birds, perhaps freer than they would be outside.
The scenario reminds one of Bihar where high profile criminals like Rajan Tiwary and Pappu Yadav used to have fun in jails throwing parties and even going out to attend marriage functions at will. Whenever such instances became public, the government suspended some lower level officials but things were back to square one soon after.
There is no denying the complicity of prison and police officials in this. Former Cuttack-Bhubaneswar Police Commissioner Binay Behera had the courage to admit the rot within his own department but few others would do that. But what is it that makes these officials pliable and dance to the tunes of criminals. Is it fear or is the lure of the filthy lucre. Though fear can be a factor, it is the pelf which matters the most. The criminals, who want the best inside the jails where they spend most of their time, spend on pliable officials lavishly even promising them a comfortable life post retirement. They also undertake to settle scores on their behalf.
The problem lies with the system which has been plagued by venality for a long long time. Unless immediate corrective measures are taken, Orissa's Raja Acharyas and Sheikh Hyders would soon be turning into Pappu Yadavs and Rajan Tiwaris. That would be a sad day for the state.
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