Patna: A late-night raid at Beur Central Jail in Patna has raised fresh concerns over prison security, after officials recovered a mobile phone and data cable from inside the high-security facility.
The operation, carried out between 10:50pm and 12:45am, followed a wider crackdown across the state’s prisons ordered soon after chief minister Samrat Choudhary assumed office. Authorities said surveillance and enforcement measures have been stepped up in recent days.
A team led by the Sadar sub-divisional officer, along with City Superintendent of Police Bhanu Pratap Singh and around 150 police personnel, searched multiple sections of the jail, including wards in the Ganga Block where the items were found.
Following the recovery, a warder has been suspended with immediate effect. Other staff members are under scrutiny and have been asked to explain potential lapses.
Singh described the action as part of a routine campaign aimed at maintaining discipline and curbing criminal activity within prisons. “Such checks are conducted periodically as part of crime control measures,” he said.
The raid comes after coordinated searches earlier on Friday across 13 jails in Bihar, led by district magistrates and senior superintendents of police. During those operations, officials reported the recovery of prohibited items, including knives, from a jail in Aurangabad, while no contraband was found in several other facilities.
The latest discovery at Beur Central Jail has nonetheless triggered questions about internal security and oversight in one of the state’s most important correctional institutions.
