The contraband racket was being operated smoothly in Central Jail for past two years
Nagpur: The arrest of three prison guards and three criminals has revealed that Ganja (Marijuana) racket was operating smoothly in Nagpur Central Jail for past two years and many inmates had become regular customers of the contraband supply chain operated by the prison guards, a police official said, adding that some more prison staffers would be called for questioning soon.
The official privy to the investigation said that prison guards Parmeshwar Khonde, Ajinkya Rathod and Prashant Rathod were running the racket and Khonde seems to be the kingpin of the racket. The guards remained tight-lipped before the police during interrogation and have not yet revealed names of their accomplices, he said. However, electronic evidence collected by the police including Call Detail Records (CDR) of mobile phones indicates involvement of more prison guards in the racket.
The police are also suspecting involvement of senior prison staffers as it is impossible to run such illegal activity in high security prison without ‘blessings’ of senior staffers. The accused guards reportedly told the police that they were carrying Ganja inside the jail by hiding it in trousers and getting Rs 5,000 for the delivery. Khonde’s friend from Buldhana district used to recharge the mobile phone used in the crime on request of the former. The friend was unaware that the phone is being used for illegal activity, the official claimed.
It may be mentioned here that the City police blow the lid off racket with arrest of Prison guards Ajinkya Rathod and Prashant Rathod and history-sheeters Shrikant alias Chinga Mahadevrao Thorat (35), Gopi alias Gopal Purushottam Parale (30) and Rahul alias Bhairav Pramod Mendhekar (28). Notorious goon Niesh Wasnik and Vaibhav Tandekar, who were regular customers of the guards, are yet to be arrested by the police on production warrant as they are in the jail.
