The head warder of the Central Prison in Vellore S. Vijayakumar has been placed under suspension for allegedly supplying ganja, a mobile phone and batteries to jail inmates, after taking bribe from them.
This is the second incident in the last few years, involving the head warder of the Central Prison on the charges. A. Abdul Rahman, Superintendent in-charge, Central Prison (Vellore), placed Vijayakumar, who is in the rank of head constable, under suspension. The Superintendent directed prison officials to conduct an inquiry and submit a report to take further departmental action against him. “A detailed probe into the incident has been initiated to plug the loopholes. Surveillance will be further tightened,” said Mr. Rahman. Officials said that during a surprise check a few days ago, they seized 150 g of ganja, a cell phone and batteries from the seventh block of the Men Prison in the complex. Initial investigation with the inmates revealed that Vijayakumar was doing it for many months, taking bribe every time. A complaint was lodged at the Bagayam police station, following which a case was registered. At present, the Central Prison complex has a total of 1,350 inmates, including 150 women prisoners in its complex that is spread over 153 acres near the Bagayam reserve forest (RF) on the Arani route. Besides, 250 housing quarters, accommodating over 800 families of prison staff, was also located within the spacious wooded premises. Currently, the prison complex has a three-tier security system with complete scanning of the visitors, including duty police personnel and prison staff, officials said.
