Overview

• Punjab government suspended 25 jail officers, including three deputy superintendents and two assistant superintendents, for dereliction of duty under civil service rules.
• Officials are accused of colluding with inmates to facilitate drug smuggling operations using mobile phones and bribery.
• Recent investigations led to the arrests of a DSP, an ASI and a head constable on charges of smuggling narcotics into Sangrur and Ropar jails.
• The action builds on the Yudh Nashian Virudh campaign that has seized large heroin stocks and exposed widespread corruption in the prison system.
• State jails are operating over capacity with 36,000 inmates in facilities designed for 26,000 and a 2022 screening found 47% of inmates were drug dependent.