Maha: Two guards, three history-sheeters held for ganja supply racket in Nagpur jail

PTI, Dec 1, 2022, 4:10 PM IST

Two guards and three history-sheeters were held for allegedly supplying ganja to inmates of Nagpur Central Jail after charging Rs 5,000 per delivery, a police official said on Thursday.

The accused, who were held on Wednesday, had obtained SIM cards through bogus documents and were using Whatsapp messages to run the operation, he said.

“The three history-sheeters got acquainted with two associates, who were in jail for murder and cryptocurrency fraud, and all five team up for this ganja supply operation. Two of the accused are prison guards,” Nagpur police commissioner Amitesh Kumar told PTI.

“They were using SIM cards that had been obtained using bogus documents. The request for drugs would be written in a piece of paper, and its image would be sent as a Whatsapp message. A fruit-seller located outside the jail complex would receive the contraband packet,” he said.

The packet would find its way inside jail and further to the inmates at a cost of Rs 5,000 per delivery, he said, adding the accused also supplied food items for Rs 3,000 and clothes for Rs 1,000.

A case has been registered at Dhantoli police station under Indian Penal Code and Prisoners Act, and further probe is underway, he added.

In September, a man charged under the stringent Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA) was held for trying to smuggle drugs and mobile phone batteries into the jail complex, while ganja was seized from the facility in April.