NEW DELHI: "Pay up and meet inmate at Tihar Jail" may sound unusual, but relatives of prisoners were reportedly being made to pay for such meetings that are legally free. The racket was exposed after an inmate alerted the jail, triggering the transfer of multiple data entry operators.
According to jail sources, the issue came to light after the intelligence wing of Tihar got inputs that a relative of an inmate was charged money for a meeting, even though no fee is required for booking such visits.During preliminary verification, jail officials collected booking details from the inmate's relative. It was found that the mulakat, or meeting, was arranged through a phone call. To verify the allegation and assess the extent of the suspected malpractice, officials from the intelligence wing posed as relatives of inmates and dialled the phone number that was being used for the bookings.
The person who received the call allegedly demanded money in exchange for arranging the visit.Sources claimed that a subsequent investigation revealed that the person had access to login credentials used for the bookings. These credentials are required to access the booking system and schedule meetings between inmates and their relatives. While the identity of the person whose credentials were misused has not yet been established, the prison decided to transfer 20-25 data entry operators as a precaution to prevent more misuse while the investigation continues.
A jail official said relatives can book meetings through phone calls, a process known as tele-booking, for which a toll-free number is provided. Data entry operators posted at the Central Public Relations Offices (CPROs) handle these booking requests by logging into the National Prisons Information Portal, entering the details of inmates' relatives, and allotting specific dates and time slots for meetings, both physical and via video conferencing.Officials believe that touts operating outside the jail took advantage of the system. Boards advertising "home-based booking" were reportedly displayed outside the jail complex, offering to arrange for the meetings through phone calls. These boards were later removed. An investigation is under way to ascertain how long the racket operated. "It was an effort by the intelligence wing staff that led to the curbing of the malpractice," a jail official said.Official data shows that from Jan to Dec 20 this year, as many as 64,017 visits were conducted through video conferencing, while 402,310 mulakats took place across the jail.The jail's IT department has been directed to introduce biometric authentication linked to login IDs and passwords to prevent unauthorised access. "Currently, data entry operators are provided only with login IDs, but once biometric verification is introduced, all three credentials will be required for access," a source said.The data entry operators were shifted to office postings within Tihar, while existing office staff were transferred to CPRO offices. Sources added that there are also chances that other staff in the CPRO offices may be transferred too.