Fifteen new jammers will be installed at six new locations to block 4G signals, effectively preventing the inmates from using mobile phones from inside the jail by Asia’s largest prison Tihar. The officials on Tuesday said, “The project, which costs about Rs 11.5 crore, will help in jamming the signals of all kinds of phones having 2G, 3G and 4G networks in the jail.” The reason attributed to the development is the use of brand new phones with 4G technology by the inmates. According to officials, making threat and extortion calls were also very common from inside the jails. Among them is the jailed conman Sukesh Chandrashekhar, who was caught using the branded phones with 4G technologies.

A senior Tihar Jail official said these 15 jammers will be the addition to three currently installed Towers of Harmonious Call Blocking (THCB) systems, a kind of technology that discontinues the call as soon as it begins. “15 new static towers of jammers, which work in noise technology, will completely prohibit the inmates from using phones in the prisons,” the officer said. The work of installation of these towers began two months ago and is expected to be completed this month. Another officer said these jammers are getting installed at high security prisons which houses in six out of nine jails of Tihar.  Currently, Delhi has 19,000 inmates, against the capacity of 10,000 inmates in all three jails — Tihar, Mandoli and Rohini. “The present jammers, which could block 2G and 3G signals, are outdated. Therefore, the upgradation of jamming technology and installation of towers that could block the 4G signals was much needed,” the officer said. In the past few years, the jailed gangsters making video calls and putting videos of their cell on social media are also found to be happening from inside the jails. The officer added that to prevent the use of mobile phones, the jail administration keeps conducting raids and does surprise checks.